Yuffie Kisaragi Does Not Need A Bodyguard!
by TimberOwls
Summary: After Godo Kisaragi receives a threat regarding his daughters life, he decides to hire no other than Cloud Strife as a bodyguard to look after her. But Yuffie is not at all happy with this arrangement. She thinks he's a jerk. He thinks she's immature.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N- Wow my first FF7 story... Please don't flame me too hard for this one._

_I've decided to base this around my two favourite characters cause their just awesome. Anyhoo, my facts might not be 100 right (especially about Wutai) because I'm currently only on disk 2 (which is lame...I know). But yeah, hope you enjoy it and please leave me nice reviews cause that would help :)._

_Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 unfortunatly...but I guess I can dream._

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**Chapter 1**

Wutai had suffered over the recent years. After it's war with Shinra, the town had lost a lot of its former power, being reduced to a 'tourist town'. Although the war had ended some time ago, Wutai had been struggling to regain it's status, especially as it had been stripped of all it's materia. In these past few years however, Wutai had begun to recover. After putting more funds into the tourism, Wutai had been able to regain some of the money it had lost during the war. The town was slowly rebuilding what had been lost and the thought that it could reach its former glory didn't seem so impossible anymore. At least, that's how things seemed.

"Godo Kisaragi…." Godo turned around to see two men enter the room. Both wore smart black suits; their eyes hidden behind sunglasses.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with a frown on his face. He had not been expecting a visit from them anytime soon. The taller of the two men placed his hands in the pockets of his blazer and took a few steps towards him.

"We've come to claim what you owe," He explained and Godo's expression dropped slightly.

"We noticed that the town seems to be doing better for itself these days," The other man spoke up, "The boss figured that now would be the time to collect the money you owe him."

"We still don't have that much money…" Godo stated, "Not enough to pay back and run the town at the same time." The taller of the two men gave a small laugh at Godo's response.

"That isn't our problem," He replied with a slight sneer, "We're here to collect the money and be on our way."

"And I told you, I don't have that money," Godo repeated. The two men glanced at each other before taking a few more steps forward. Godo glanced at both of them, suddenly feeling a little intimidated.

"You made a deal with our boss," The taller man reminded him, "He lends you the money to so you can help rebuild this town and you pay him back with the interest. Now he wants his money, so you give him the amount you owe. It's not complicated Godo."

"But I told you, I can't pay the amount back," Godo told him, "If I did, there would be nothing left to support my town."

"Well, that's just too bad," The short man sneered, leaning closer to Godo and giving him a menacing stare from behind his sunglasses. After a moment, he gave the Wutaian a little shove backwards before stepping away.

"You have a week to gather the sufficient funds," He continued before straightening up his tie. Godo glared at both of them.

"You don't scare me." He stated and the small man smiled dangerously.

"Tell me Godo…how's your daughter?" Godo's expression fell and the two men gave little laughs before turning away from him, "You have a week." Godo watched as the two men made their way out of the room. As they closed the door, he sank into a nearby chair and buried his head in his hands. He had no idea what to do now. He knew that he wouldn't be able to afford the payments without ruining the town but he could not let his daughter get dragged into this. He cursed himself for being so stupid; he should have known better than to borrow money from people like them. Yet he'd been so desperate to help reclaim Wutai's honour…now he was in danger of ruining everything.

The next day brought clear blue skies and a gentle wind that softly blew the dark hair of a certain petite ninja as she stood atop Da Chao. She'd climbed up there earlier that morning after a certain incident involving yet another fight, only this time the boy's parents were going to speak to her father. Since she wasn't in the mood to face another lecture, she clambered up the mountain where she knew he wouldn't find her. Well, it wasn't _her _fault the boy was being a total jerk and needed to learn a lesson. It also wasn't _her _fault that boy wasn't strong enough to defend himself. And it wasn't _her _fault that she was so amazing at fighting that she kicked his ass without even trying that hard. Well, at least he would think twice about being a complete jerk next time.

She was lazily sprawled across one of the giant statues when something in the town caught her eye. It looked like some kind of bike parked just outside the Turtles Paradise bar. She could faintly make out a blonde haired figure making their way towards her father's house before stepping inside. Feeling a little curious, she got to her feet, deciding she wanted to investigate this. She was naturally a curious person…oh ok, she was just nosey. She quickly made her way back down the mountain and back into the village. She had literally walked about five steps into the town when she heard someone call her name.

"Oh, there you are Yuffie," The petite ninja rolled her eyes and turned to see who had spoken to her. It was one of her father's servants; Yuffie figured he must have been sent out to look for her.

"Your father wishes to see you," The servant told her but she just shrugged.

"Well that's too bad," She replied before turning away from him, "Tell him it wasn't my fault that that guy was being a pain in the ass. I was just teaching him a thing or two."

"But your highness…" The servant protested and she glared at him.

"God if there's one thing I hate being called…" She began in a dangerous voice that caused the servant to flinch, "I'm not going to speak to my…'father' so get over it." The servant quickly left and Yuffie followed him with her eyes.

"_Gawd…I hate butt-kissing servants…"_ She thought to herself as she continued on her way towards the town's resident bar. A few people smiled at her as she passed but she didn't smile back - she hated all the royalty stuff. She knew that one day she'd have to run the town; it was a duty she couldn't avoid forever. But being cooped up inside a building and signing documents wasn't the future she had in mind. She wanted an adventure. She wanted to explore the rest of the world and find that _oh so _precious materia. She wanted to go around kicking some monster ass and showing off her skills…not just sitting around all day. It just wasn't her style at all.

"_But ooooh boy!" _She thought as she stood in front of the most impressive motor bike she'd ever seen. It was a sleek, black design that just looked so awesome! Yuffie couldn't rid herself of the grin on her face as she looked at it. She traced her eyes towards the general direction of her father's house. If the bikes owner was in there…maybe she could convince them to give her a ride on this beastly machine. With the grin still fixed on her face, she began skipping towards her father's house.

His heavy boots clunked loudly on the wooden flooring as he walked. He reached the room he'd been instructed to wait in and stepped inside. It was simply decorated; there were three comfortable looking beds with a few shelves lining the walls. After a few moments he began pacing around the room, looking at a few of the traditional Wutai decorations.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," He turned around to see a man wearing a Wutaian Kimono walking into the room, "My names Godo Kisaragi. I'm the leader of Wutai."

"Names Cloud Strife," He replied and Godo nodded.

"Yes, I've heard your reputation as a mercenary and I wish to enlist your help," Godo informed him.

"What's the job?" Cloud asked, wanting to get straight to business.

"It's about my daughter," Godo began, "I've received threats about her safety, so I've decided to hire a bodyguard for her. Would you be interested in taking up the job?" Cloud looked at him for a moment before nodding his head.

"As long as I get my payment then I don't care what the job is," Cloud answered before folding his arms, "So you just want me to look after your daughter."

"Yes," Godo replied, "A while ago I borrowed some money from a man named Sephian in order to help my town. However, he now wants his money back with interest that I can't afford. He's threatened to harm her if he doesn't get his money back within a week."

"I want you to make sure no harm comes to her," Godo continued, "At least, until this madness is over." Cloud nodded his head in response to Godo's words. Yet, before any of them could speak, the door opened and in burst the dark haired ninja.

"Ah, speaking of which…" Godo began and Yuffie frowned slightly.

"You were talking about me?" She asked but Godo pretended not to hear her as he turned to look at the only blonde in the room.

"Cloud, this is my daughter Yuffie," Godo introduced him to his now beaming daughter. Yuffie held her hand for Cloud to shake, "Yuffie, this is Cloud Strife…you're new body guard." The instant Yuffie heard the words 'you're new bodyguard' she retracted her hand and a mixed look of shock and horror replaced the smile.

"W-What!" She exclaimed and Cloud folded his arms again, looking away from her, "I don't need a bodyguard!"

"In these new circumstance, you do," Godo replied.

"What new circumstances!" Yuffie demanded but Godo just waved his hand at her in a dismissive fashion. Yuffie scowled at him again.

"I don't want a bodyguard," She stated, "I can take care of myself-"

"Cloud is your new bodyguard Yuffie. End of discussion." Godo interrupted with a hint of finality in his voice. Yuffie puffed out her cheeks, before storming out of the room. Godo watched her go before sighing.

"I'm just warning you now Cloud," He began as the blonde turned to look at him, "She might be a little bit…difficult."

"If it's my job to protect her then that's what I'll do," Cloud stated.

Yuffie stormed down the corridor absolutely seething from the conversation with her father. A _bodyguard_!? As if she, Yuffie Kisaragi - the Wutaian Ninja and thief, needed a _bodyguard_! This was the biggest load of crap she'd ever heard. Even though her new 'bodyguard' just happened to be quite good looking, nobody followed her around or told her what to do. She does her own thing and only ever pleases herself. She scowled again; something told her that these next few weeks were NOT going to be fun….

_Please leave me some nice reviews...cheers. I'll try and update soon. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry, the update took a little longer than I hoped. I wrote it out, then didn't like it so I scraped it all and started again. Anyway, thank you for the reviews :) I'll try to take them into account. Enjoy._

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**Chapter 2**

"_Day one of operation __Lets piss off Yuffie__ obviously_" Yuffie had thought to herself as she noticed Cloud watching over her yet again. She was just walking around Wutai, keeping herself to herself and thinking up more schemes to get hold of some materia when she noticed him. She came to a halt and folded her arms in annoyance.  
"You don't have to follow me around you know?" She stated, not attempting to hide her frustration.

"I'm under orders to make sure I keep an eye on you," Cloud shrugged, obviously not bothered by the tone of voice she'd used. Yuffie groaned inwardly.

"_Gahh if this is what he__s gonna be like then this will be worse than a world full of those stupid frog things._She thought as she continued walking again. She heard his footsteps behind her and she stopped.

"Stop following me!" She exclaimed, making a passer by jump. She turned around to see that Cloud had a smirk on his face which only irritated the ninja more. It was the middle of the afternoon on the first day and he was annoying her already. She had no idea how long her father intended on him sticking around but if he kept acting like this then Yuffie couldn't see herself lasting a week. She turned away from him again before allowing a sly smile onto her face.

"_So, he's supposed to keep an eye on me, huh?" _She pondered as she started rubbing her chin thoughtfully, _"Well, let's see if he can keep up with me first." _

Cloud was inspecting the scenery around him. He'd never been to Wutai before but had heard of the losses it had suffered after the war with Shinra. It was quite a attractive looking town, what with it's different architecture and strong traditional decorations. Yet, the people seemed tired and worn out from the hardships they had faced. With one last glance at the town, he turned to check on the ninja in front of him. His eyes widened - she'd disappeared. He spun around on his heel, looking for any sign of her but to his horror, she was no where to be found.

"Yuffie?" He called her name but there was no reply. He cursed aloud; he'd barely been her bodyguard for a day and she'd already gone missing on him. Hastily, he ran into the town and glanced around him.

"Excuse me," He addressed a nearby woman, "You haven't seen Yuffie Kisaragi, have you?"

"Actually, I thought I just saw someone run inside that building there," She pointed to the building across from the small river. Cloud muttered his thanks to her before making his way over towards the building she'd indicated to. He opened the door without knocking and was a little surprised to see a small girl looking up at him in shock.

"Oh, it's you," Cloud noticed an old man, at the back of the room, had addressed him, "How have you been?" Cloud frowned and the little girl turned to look at the man in annoyance.

"Grandpa, we don't know this guy," She snapped angrily, "He just stormed into our house!" Cloud turned his attention back to the girl; she seemed to have a better idea of what was going on.

"Have you seen Yuffie Kisaragi?" He enquired and the girl looked up at him in annoyance. Just then Cloud heard a rustling noise from behind a folding screen situated at the side of the room. Ignoring the girl's cries of protest, Cloud marched over to the screen and pulled it back. The grinning face of Yuffie looked back at him. She gave a little laugh, before rushing past him. Before Cloud could even cry out, Yuffie had ran outside again. Cloud followed her but as soon as he was outside she was gone.

"_Well, at least she's not in any danger,"_ Cloud thought to himself, "_Until I get hold of her…_" He began to make his way towards the bridge, where he swore he caught a glimpse of her dark hair. Scowling slightly, Cloud checked the first few buildings for any sign of her but she wasn't there. He reached the items shop and pushed the door open. The two woman inside glanced at him before looking away.

"I'm looking for Yuffie…." He began but the woman behind the counter shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen Yuffie all day," She replied. Cloud groaned inwardly and ran his fingers through his hair in annoyance. Suddenly, he heard a faint noise behind him. Before he even had chance to turn around, he heard someone shout 'Yoink!' before the door opened and closed again. It took Cloud a few moments to realise that his materia had vanished. He swore and flung the door open, ignoring the looks of shock from the shops two occupants. Running off was one thing, but swiping his materia was something he couldn't stand for. Once he got hold of that ninja, he was going to gut her in the most painful manner he could think of. Although he had no idea where she'd run off to now, he decided to back track towards the weapons shop and try there again. As he passed Turtles Paradise, however, he could have sworn he heard something rattling. He glanced to his right to see a large pot swaying slightly as if someone had just clambered inside. With a smile on his face he made his way over to it and quietly crouched down beside it.

"He's never gonna find me in here…nyuk nyuk," He heard the distinct mutterings of the Wutaian Heiress and couldn't hide the smirk on his face. Cloud positioned himself behind the jar and, with a little push, sent the jar toppling over. He heard her scream as the jar started to roll down the small hill and crashed into the railings a few metres away. Yuffie emerged from the jar a few moments later, clutching her stomach and looking generally quite ill.

"I…I'm gonna…k-kill…" She grumbled as she pulled herself across the ground to get as far away from the jar as she could. She stopped as she saw someone's feet in front of her and slowly looked up to see Cloud smirking at her.

"Have a fun trip…you're highness?" Yuffie felt her eyebrow twitching with anger. She scrambled to her feet and suddenly lunged at the blonde, her hands searching for the throwing blades strapped to her leg. Cloud seemed prepared for this and instantly held his hands out to stop her. Yuffie wrestled against his grip, swinging her arms to try and hit him but she couldn't quite reach him.

"Cocky bastard…" She snarled but he only smirked at her. After a few more moments, she gave up and stood with her arms folded, glaring at him.

"You gonna give me my materia back now?" Cloud asked. She shot him a disgusted expression but Cloud looked at her expectantly. Yuffie glared again.

"Here's your stupid materia…." She snapped as she threw at him. Cloud didn't even flinch as one hit him squarely on the chest but continued to look at her, "What?!"

"You're missing one," He told her and he noticed Yuffie's livid expression. She hurled the last materia at him, hitting him directly on the head. Without waiting for him to reply or even acknowledge her, Yuffie stalked off.

"_Dam that cocky…stupid chocobo haired jerk…"_ She thought to herself as she made her way towards her house, "_How dare he make an idiot out of the greatest ninja of all time…._" She flung her door open and stormed across the room. She heard a _meow _and glanced down to see a cat wandering down her house.

"Dammit, those cats get everywhere" Yuffie muttered to herself as she picked the animal up and made her way back towards the door. She opened it and placed the cat down outside but it just walked over to her again. Scowling slightly, she picked it up and walked a few steps away from her house before putting it down. To her slight annoyance, the cat walked back over to her again.

"I bet Cloud put you up to this…" Yuffie stated, looking down at the black and white cat. It looked back up at her innocently and she scowled at it again.

"Oh so now the cat's following you too?" Yuffie turned to her left to see Cloud smirking at her. She puffed out her cheeks and folded her arms.

"Don't play dumb. I know you've set it onto me," She replied, "It's like you need some kind of accomplice in making my life hell for the next….whenever."

"I don't need an accomplice to do that," Cloud replied and Yuffie found herself scowling yet again. Why did her father have to hire such a cocky, arrogant jerk to be her bodyguard? Wait, why did her father have to hire a bodyguard in general? She shook her head before placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, I'm going to sleep anyway," Yuffie told him, but Cloud didn't move.

"It's my job to keep an eye on you…day and night," He informed her, "Especially night time as that's when you let you guard down the most." Yuffie gave a '_hmph_' as she turned away from him.

"I never let my guard down," She stated, causing the blonde to cock an eyebrow at her.

"Oh? Even when you're asleep?"

"Of course," Yuffie replied as it was the most obvious thing in the world, "It's part of my ninja skills to detect people when I'm sleeping." Cloud didn't look convinced but Yuffie didn't really care.

"Ok whatever," Cloud replied, "But I'm sticking around just in case your 'ninja skills' aren't totally up to scratch." For once Yuffie bit her tongue, deciding that she just didn't care about arguing anymore today.

"Fine," She huffed and, ignoring the smirk that crept onto Cloud's face again, "Pervert." Cloud didn't quite catch the last part. Scowling, she made her way back inside her house. Cloud followed after her and closed the door behind him.

Yuffie's house was pretty simple, despite her being next in line for the Wutaian throne. That took Cloud by surprise a little. He'd half expected it to be heavily decorated with rich and expensive furniture but seems he was wrong. Yuffie noticed him staring at the room and suddenly felt her cheeks redden a little in embarrassment. Cloud was the first guy who'd ever been in her room. She quickly regained her 'annoyed' expression and walked over to the far wall where her bed was.

"You'll have to get some blankets from the basement," She told him and Cloud nodded in response. He made his way over towards the steps that led down to basement, "Don't touch anything else." Cloud rolled his eyes at her words.

"I won't," He reassured her before descending down the cold stone steps. He continued along the small corridor and took the turning to the left towards the opening in the wall. He was a little taken back at the size of the room. He hadn't expected it to be so big. After taking a few steps inside, his mako washed eyes fell onto quite an impressive shrunken and throwing blade collection. Although he was more into swords himself, he could appreciate the quality of the weapons she'd collected. He took his eyes away and found the blankets Yuffie had been talking about. He grabbed a couple of them and hastily made his way upstairs.

Yuffie was already wrapped in her own covers as he entered the room. Cloud threw the blankets down on the sofa and sat down.

"What took you so long?" Yuffie spoke without even turning to look at him.

"Nothing," Cloud answered after a moment or two. Yuffie gave a little '_hmph_' and Cloud rolled his eyes at her yet again. He sat there for a few moments, wondering why he'd actually fetched the blankets in the first place. It wasn't like he was intending to sleep anyway. After a few minutes had passed he got to his feet again, deciding that he should probably get a better look of the outside layout around Yuffie's house. As he made his way towards the door, the petite ninja spoke up.

"Where are you going?" She asked, still not looking at him.

"I'm going for a look around," He told her as he placed his hand on the door handle, "I won't be long."

"Take as long as you like," Yuffie stated after a few moments, "It's not like I'm gonna miss you." Cloud rolled his eyes again.

_Reviews are welcome...I always try to act on them anyways. Hopefully I'll update soon._


	3. Chapter 3

_Next chapter up...obviously  
__All I'm going to say is poor Cloud...he's got the short straw with Yuffie in this chapter. Anyway, thank you for the reviews last time. As always, I appreciate them so thankies. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 3**

Yuffie woke with a yawn as she rolled over onto her back. After a few moments she rubbed her eyes and sleepily opened them. The sun's rays drifted in through a gap in the curtains and Yuffie squinted slightly as her eyes adjusted to the light. She stretched her arms and messed up the back of her hair. She glanced over towards the sofa but there was no sign of Cloud anywhere. Feeling happy about his absence, she dragged herself out of bed and wandered over towards the mirror.

"_Yep, looking rough as usual,_" She thought as she studied her reflection. Her hair was stuck up all over the place and it made her laugh slightly. After attempting to neaten it up, she made her way over towards the wardrobe and flung it open. She decided upon a black top with flowers printed on it and threw it on the bed before closing the wardrobe. Humming a nameless tune, she wandered over to the bed before pulling her pyjama top off and reaching for the clean one she'd picked out of the wardrobe.

At that moment, the door opened. Yuffie froze on the spot for a moment, before turning her head to glance over her shoulder. The moment her eyes laid on Cloud, she gave a startled cry and dived for the bed covers.

"Pervert!" She yelled as she spun around to look at him, wrapped in the duvet. Cloud's cheeks instantly flushed pink and he hastily looked away from her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were-" He began quickly but was cut off as Yuffie hurled a cushion at him, hitting him on his right shoulder.

"Don't lie to me!" Yuffie cried, before throwing a nearby lampshade at him. Cloud held out his arms to defend himself, "You knew I was getting changed and fancied a peak, huh?"

"Yuffie, I swear that's not-" But Yuffie cut him off again, this time with a coat hanger.

"Pervert! Get out!" Cloud didn't need telling twice. He quickly spun around and made a run for the outside. He slammed the door shut, just as Yuffie had thrown a shoe at him. It bounced off the door and landed a few meters away. Yuffie stood glaring at the door with her face bright red and absolutely seething. That was possibly one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. She waited a moment until she'd calmed down before turning away.

"Why couldn't I find any throwing daggers when I needed them…" She muttered to herself, before picking up the top she still hadn't changed into. She quickly glanced around her, just to make sure he wasn't watching her or anything. She threw the duvet back on the bed and hastily pulled her top on.

Once she was fully dressed and satisfied with her appearance, Yuffie made her way out of her house. She was glad to see Cloud wasn't hanging around; if she'd have seen him then she'd have most likely hurled a throwing blade at him this time. Her cheeks reddened slightly as she thought of the incident that had happened that morning. She still couldn't believe he'd walked in on her getting changed.

"_Gawd…that was so embarrassing…"_ She thought, as she began to make her way over towards the weapons shop. No sooner had she put her foot on the wooden bridge, she heard someone call her name and groaned inwardly at the sight in front of her.

"Good morning Your Highness," Yuffie clenched her fists at the mention of her title but managed not to snap at him.

"Hello Shu…" Yuffie greeted, not bothering to hide the irritation in her voice. The boy smiled at her and Yuffie sighed inwardly in annoyance. Shu was the son of the Turtles Paradise owner and he'd been trying to suck up to Yuffie ever since he was a small boy. Yuffie couldn't remember meeting a more annoying person than him. He was a total slime; she always felt like she needed a wash even after only speaking to him.

"You're looking lovely this morning," He commented and Yuffie almost felt like puking there and then, right on his shoes.

"Ugh, yeah," She replied and he smiled sweetly at her. She began to continue on her way, hoping to get away from his sickly sweet comments but, to her horror, he walked with her.

"Are you up to anything today?" Shu enquired and Yuffie didn't reply. Yet, Shu continued anyway, "I was hoping that you'd let me train with you sometime." Yuffie snorted before she could stop herself.

"Me? Train with you?" She repeated in disbelief and Shu nodded his head, "Ha, dream on." Shu appeared not to be swayed by her comment.

"I've taken up Jujitsu lessons now," He explained to her and Yuffie cast him an unimpressed expression. Shu either didn't notice or chose to ignore it as he stuck out his chest proudly, "My teacher says I'm the best in the class."

"What, out of a class of seven year olds?" Yuffie mocked and Shu's chest deflated, "You've been learning Jujitsu for less than a year and you want me, _thee _Yuffie Kisaragi - master ninja, to train with you?" Shu nodded his head hopefully but Yuffie just laughed at him.

"As I said before," Yuffie continued, "Dream on." Shu looked disappointed by her refusal.

"I thought it might impress you…" He stated and Yuffie snorted again.

"The only way you could impress me was if you managed to impale yourself on one of my throwing blades all by yourself," It was a little harsh yes, but Yuffie was not in the mood for Shu's sucking up. Shu's saddened expression turned to a scowl as he stopped walking. Yuffie turned to look at him with a slightly curious look on her face.

"I've had it with trying to be nice to you," Shu snapped and Yuffie sighed, placing her hands on her waist, "All you ever do is insult me!"

"Aww, aren't you clever Shu! You worked all that out by yourself did you?" Shu's cheeks reddened and he clenched his fists.

"If you don't stop that then I might have to resort to my Jujitsu skills to teach you a lesson," Shu threatened but Yuffie just laughed at him.

"You are going to teach _me _a lesson?" Yuffie replied before a mocking grin spread onto her face, "Or did you mean a lesson in being a looser?"

"You don't need a lesson from me," Shu replied and Yuffie's mocking expression faded instantly. Shu then realised he'd said the wrong thing.

"What did you say?" Yuffie asked dangerously and Shu gave a nervous laugh.

"I was just j-joking you know…" He spoke quickly but Yuffie took a step closer to him, her hands automatically went to the blades strapped onto her thigh.

"What did you say?" Yuffie repeated in a threatening voice. Shu eyed the blade she was spinning in between her fingers and gave a little yelp. Yuffie grinned at him.

"Say Shu," She began sweetly, "How about that little training session you were dying for?"

Shu left Godo's house clutching a bleeding nose and sporting several bruises. Yuffie had been sent to her room whilst Godo spoke to both Shu and Shu's father, apologising for his daughter's behaviour. She'd glared at Shu as he passed, causing him to jump and walk past her as fast as his legs would carry him. She smirked, feeling satisfied to have finally taught that creep a lesson or two, even though she would now have to face the consequences of her actions. The door to her room opened and she half expected it to be her father. To her surprise, it was Cloud that entered the room. Her expression darkened.

"What do you want?" She didn't bother to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"Godo wants to see you," Cloud told her and she smirked slightly.

"What are you, his errand boy now?" Cloud ignored her, "Weren't you supposed to be 'looking out' for me?"

"I figured you needed a bit of space this morning," Cloud told her and Yuffie frowned slightly. She'd completely forgot about this morning, "And I didn't really fancy having another object thrown at my head."

"Oh, so you figured you'd come in now and undress me with your eyes?" Yuffie said as she put her hands on her hips. Cloud sighed in annoyance.

"I already told you," He began, "What happened this morning was an accident. I was outside and I heard movement so I went in to check you were ok."

"A likely story," Yuffie scoffed and Cloud scowled as he folded his arms.  
"Fine, believe whatever you want," He snapped, "I don't care what you think of me, just as long as I get the job done, get my money and go."

"Jerk," Yuffie replied but he just shrugged at her.

"Grow up Yuffie," She glared at him and her hand instinctively reached for her throwing blades. Before she could even unsheathe one, the door opened again and this time, it was her father that walked in. Hastily, she let go of her weapons and watched her father as he made his way over towards her. Godo stood with his arms folded. A hard expression lined his face as he looked at his daughter.

"Aren't you going to explain yourself?" He asked but Yuffie shrugged.

"Why should I?" She replied, "He asked me to train with him so I did."

"From what I heard, you went 'all out' on him," Godo stated, "His injuries, although not too severe, didn't seem like you gave a fair fight." Yuffie gave an irritated sigh.

"Ok, so he was annoying me a little," She admitted and Godo cast her an unimpressed expression, "But he should have prepared himself…after all, he was the one who asked to train with me." Her father continued to give her a hard expression.

"Yuffie Kisaragi, in a few years time you may be inheriting the throne of Wutai," Her father began and Yuffie cringed slightly, "And this is hardly the behaviour of the future empress of Wutai!" Yuffie folded her arms and looked away from him.

"You can hardly talk though," She muttered and Godo glared at her.

"What's that supposed to mean Yuffie?" He challenged and Yuffie glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Well, for a start it is your fault Wutai is in this mess to start with," Yuffie stated and her father frowned slightly, "You were the one who pushed for war and look what it's done to us. That's hardly the way the Emperor of Wutai should act, really."

"I mean, look at us now. We're completely materialess, we've lost a lot of our former glory and you've turned the once glorious Wutai into a tourist town-"

"Get out," Godo's voce was quiet but it was enough to silence the young ninja. Yuffie glared at her father before stalking out of the room. She walked quickly until she was well away from her father's house and came to a stop, seething with anger. She couldn't ever remember hating anyone person more than she hated her father right now. How dare he say things to her like that when he was the one who got Wutai into the sorry state it's in.

"_This is all his dam fault!"_ She thought, before kicking a nearby pebble with as much force as she could. It flew across the ground and crashed into one of the many jars outside of the Turtles Paradise. After a few moments, she heard footsteps behind her and she groaned inwardly, expecting the owner of the bar to come out shouting at her. To her surprise, she felt someone place a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" It was Cloud's voice that greeted her. Yuffie was slightly taken aback but then pulled herself free of his grip.

"I'm fine," She snapped, not turning to look at him. Cloud didn't reply for a few moments.

"Fine," He stated and she heard the sound of his footsteps fading away. Curiosity got the better of her, so she glanced over her shoulder to see him walking away. Someone gave a cry and she turned back around to see the Turtles Paradise owner looking at the crack in the broken jar. He turned to look at Yuffie and scowled at her.

"Get over it," She responded and he blinked at her in surprise. Yuffie was not in the mood for this. She wasn't in the mood for everyone moping around Wutai or sucking up to her or generally annoying her or being obsessed with stupid traditions. Future empress or not, Yuffie was fed up of Wutai and she couldn't take any more.

"_Well, he told me to get out," _Yuffie mused as she began walking again, _"I guess it'll serve him right if I do._"

_Sorry if I got a few tiny fact wrong about Wutai but yeah, Yuffie was a little harsh ha ha.  
Anyway, reviews are welcomed...as always._


	4. Chapter 4

_Ok, another update I'm sorry it took me a while. You know what teachers are like at this time of year - "exams exams exams blah blah..." I guess I should be revising but you know how it is, computer games and writing just seem so much interesting. Plus, band commitments...so that's why it's taken me longer than usual to post this one.  
__It's not as long as the others...appologies but hope you enjoy it anyway.  
The reviews last time were cool...so thank you :)_

_Updated - Just sorting out a few typo's, helpfully pointed out by Honeydog - which is much appreciated. So yeeah, if you see any more let me know and I'll sort them out. Cheeeers._

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**Chapter 4**

Cloud sat on the end of the sofa; deep in thought as usual. It was late at night and the cloudless sky outside was inky black in colour. He heard a soft rustling and his eyes fell on the room's only other occupant as she shifted around on the bed in her sleep. She'd avoided everyone ever since the argument with her father and had gone to bed at the earliest opportunity. Cloud felt sorry for her, but only slightly. He figured she'd brought this on herself really. He glanced at the time on his phone and got to his feet. He'd been doing hourly checks around the premises, just in case something did happen. He threw the phone back on the sofa and made his way over towards the door. He glanced over his shoulder, just to check on the sleeping heiress, before making his way outside.

The sound of the door softly clicking shut reached her ears and her eyes shot open. Yuffie had been faking sleep for the past few hours. It had been fairly easy; she just slept with her face to the wall so Cloud couldn't see her properly. She waited a moment, just to make sure he didn't come back in before sitting up and swinging her legs out of the covers. She reached for her shoes that she'd conveniently left by the side of the bed and laced them up quickly. After getting to her feet, Yuffie carefully crept over towards the far wall, her eyes fixed on the door. Cloud may have done an inspection of the surrounding area, but he had missed one of Yuffie's most prized secretes. Hopping two steps at a time, she made her way into the basement

Yuffie poked her head outside, just to make sure no one was about. Once she was sure, she stepped out into the unusually cold breeze. Shuddering slightly, she hastily ran towards the Turtle's Paradise bar and stopped to check the surrounding area again. She was going to have to be careful to make sure Cloud doesn't notice her. Yet she couldn't see any sign of the chocobo haired guy, so she ran as fast as she could towards the entrance of Wutai. She stood in front of it for a moment as a brief feeling of hesitation swept over her. She shook her head, telling herself not to be stupid and ran out of her hometown. After running a few moments, she paused and took a look at the scenery around her. She'd never really left Wutai before. Well, she'd attempted once but her father caught her and she'd been heavily punished afterwards. Tall cliffs seemed to edge around either side of her and it felt a little intimidating. However, Yuffie continued with determination.

"I am not going back there," She told herself as she started walking again. She had no idea of where she was going, she just wanted to get as far away from Wutai and her father as possible. After a few more moments, she noticed that the wind was beginning to pick up in speed. She shuddered and started rubbing her arms to keep her warm. She carried on walking, having to squint slightly to try and make out which direction she should go in. The darkness had gotten seemingly thicker as she'd gotten further away from the town. Yuffie reached for the blades strapped to her thigh for comfort.

"_Well, if anything tries to attack me at least I can kick it__'__s ass,_" She thought to herself as she did so.  
Soon, the path she was walking began to get steeper. Yuffie trudged on but the cold was beginning to get to her.

"Dammit, why didn't I bring a coat or something," She grumbled through chattering teeth. She took a few more steps but then stopped suddenly. She thought she'd heard something in the darkness. She reached for her shuriken and spun around just in time to see something flying at her. She dived to her right, narrowly avoiding it's attack and jumped back to her feet again. The creature looked like a giant bird; Yuffie glared at it.

"Alrighty, you wanna fight? You got one birdy!" She hurled her shuriken at it, hitting it directly on the head. The monster flew at her again, but she easily avoided it, before throwing her weapon at it again. The creature dropped to the floor and Yuffie grinned triumphantly, pointing at the fallen monster.

"That is why you don't-" She was cut off mid sentence as something jumped on her back. She stumbled and glanced over her shoulder to see some strange pink lizard thing attached onto her back. She gave a cry as it's grip tightened. Yuffie could feel her back slowly getting crushed by the creature's strength. Although struggling to breathe with her lungs being slowly squashed into thin tubes, Yuffie threw herself backwards against the cliffs, slamming the lizard into the rocky surface. As soon as she felt the death grip slacken, she smacked the monster with her shuriken and rolled free from it's attack. She threw her weapon at it again, just to finish it off. After making sure it was dead, Yuffie took a few deep breaths and rubbed her ribs. She got little time to recover however, as she looked up to see three more bird monsters flying at her. She avoided the attack by diving aside again and scrambled to her feet to see them all looking menacingly at her.

"For Leviathan's sake…"

Cloud returned to the house after another successful search; well he didn't find anyone suspicious lurking around anyway. He gently pushed the door open, as not to wake the sleeping girl. When his eyes fell on the bed, he frowned before making his way over to it. There was a note stuck to the bed covers. Cloud yanked it off to inspect it.

'Laters' Was the only word scrawled across the paper. Cloud scanned the room before cursing under his breath.

"Dammit it Yuffie…." He crumpled the note up in his hand and quickly left Yuffie's house.

Yuffie felt like she was under an onslaught of monsters. No sooner had she killed some, more appeared to take the fallen ones place. She had taken some damage too. Although it was nothing serious, it was beginning to wear her out and it looked like the monsters weren't stopping.

"Dam things!" Yuffie snarled as she threw her shuriken at some more lizard creatures, "Why can't you all just die!" She caught her weapon but didn't see the bird like creature charge at her from behind. It slammed into her small frame, sending her backwards across the floor. Yuffie sat up and clutched her stomach as she got to her feet. She threw her weapon at it and knocked it out of the sky with a satisfying _thud_. Smirking slightly, she turned around to see two weird bug like creatures flying towards her. She gripped her weapon tighter, ready to hurl it at them. She took down the first one with little effort but before she could take out the second, it managed to spray her with some kind of dust. Yuffie paused a moment, before she felt a wave of pain sweep her entire body. She grit her teeth as she managed to dispose of the monster but then, another painful sensation overcame her again and she doubled over. It came again and Yuffie clutched her stomach in agony.

"_Dammit…why wasn't I prepared for poison…" _She had no antidotes with her or esuna equpitted. Come to think of it, she wasn't very prepared in general. She'd just grabbed her weapon and whatever materia she could find before leaving. She cursed herself for being so stupid and curled up into a ball as the pain came again.

"_What a stupid way to die._" Was the first thought that popped into her head as she lay there. She'd always imagined that she'd go in her old age after spending years of fighting and gathering materia. Not laying her in the freezing cold, just waiting for poison to chip her health away. There was so much that she wanted to do….

"_Oh well, maybe this will teach my father a lesson for being such a jerk,_" But it seemed a high price to pay for that. Yet another burst of pain; Yuffie gritted her teeth to try and brace herself for it. She felt herself get weaker and weaker every time the pain struck her. She realised she couldn't have much longer to go now. The cliffs around her were starting to get blurry and she started to feel distant. She thought she heard something; sounded faintly like the rumbling of an engine but she wasn't too sure. A bright light was slowly drawing nearer to her; she figured her time was almost up. It got closer and closer; Yuffie squinted slightly. She could see some kind of figure approaching her but couldn't quite make out what it was. Everything appeared to be just one huge blur. She couldn't find the strength to keep her eyes open any longer and she slipped away into darkness.

_Dun dun duuuuuh in a dramatic way Ok, hopefully updates soon. Please read and review, it makes me happy _


	5. Chapter 5

_Despite knowing I should be revising, I thought it would be more fun to write this up instead, so yeah here it is is happy  
Thanks for the reviews last time again, is happy  
Hopefully, you'll enjoy this installment tooo. I'll shut up now._

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**Chapter 5**

Everything felt like one massive blur. Yuffie could feel her senses slowly creeping back into her numb body, bringing a dull aching pain along with it.

"_Weird…you still feel pain when you die?_" Slowly, she opened one of her eyes but she was unable to make anything out. It looked like a hazy mass of dull colours; she couldn't quite figure out what she was looking at.

"_Ugh…afterlife sucks,"_ She thought, "_And it smells funky." _She wriggled her nose in a disgruntled fashion as a damp, earthy smell floated over to her nostrils. She found that her vision was slowly getting clearer. She could now identify what appeared to be rocks, situated not far from where she was laying. Thinking it kinda odd to see rocks in her afterlife, Yuffie tried to sit up but the sudden pain that stabbed at her chest caused her to lay down again.

"_Owww…"_ Yet the pain seemed to snap her into focus. She opened the other eye to see that she was laying in what appeared to be a cave of some sort.

"Don't try sitting up," A voice floated to her ears before she could inspect the surrounding area. She tilted her head to see Cloud sat down by a fire.

"Dammit, you're even following me to the afterlife," She stated, her voice sounding a little weak. Cloud smirked at her words.

"You're not dead Yuffie," He told her in a slightly amused voice and she frowned again.

"I'm not?"

"No," Cloud repeated, "I found you unconscious on one of the cliff edges. You were badly poisoned…it was lucky I got there when I did otherwise I wouldn't have been able to save you." Yuffie blinked at him for a moment.

"Wait, you saved me?" Cloud nodded his head.

"I had some antidotes with me ," Cloud explained to her, "I used some to treat some of the poison before it spread too far. After that, I figured you'd need somewhere to rest. Wutai was too far away for me to take you when you were in that state. Luckily, I stumbled across this cave not too far away from where I found you." Yuffie lay in silence as she tried to take in what Cloud had just told her. After a moment, Yuffie screwed her face up.

"This cave smells." She stated. Cloud rolled his eyes at her comment.

"Sorry, I didn't have enough space to bring an air freshener," He replied. Yuffie didn't bother to reply to his words. She turned her face away from him and looked up at the moss covered ceiling above her.

"How long have I been unconscious for?" She enquired after a couple of minutes of silence. Cloud's gaze was fixed on the fire in front of him as it crackled, eating at the wood that fuelled it.

"About two days," He answered. Yuffie cast him an alarmed expression, "The poison had spread pretty far…I'm amazed you managed to survive it."

"It was that bad?" Yuffie asked in a unnaturally quiet voice. Cloud nodded his head in response, "Wow…." Cloud glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"You've never fought monsters before…have you?" Yuffie glared at him for a moment.

"What!" She snapped but them her anger faded slightly, "Well…no, but I figured it couldn't have been any different than fighting anything else." Cloud smiled again.

"Except you can predict what another human's going to do," Cloud replied, "It's different with monsters. For a start, you can't read facial expressions or body language like you can with humans. Monsters are unpredictable…that's why their dangerous." Yuffie regarded Cloud for a moment before scowling slightly.

"I don't need fighting tips from you," She retorted and Cloud shrugged at her.

"Whatever…I just figured you might want the advice," Cloud turned his attention back to the fire and Yuffie looked at him from the corner of her eye. Absentmindedly, she found herself tracing the length of his arm with her eyes and admiring the strength in those muscles. She shook her head when she realised what she was doing and cringed slightly.

"Do you...err I mean," Yuffie quickly started a conversation to distract herself, "Have you done a lot of fighting?"

"I've done my fair share," Cloud replied after a moment or two. Yuffie wasn't satisfied with a vague answer like that.

"What like?" She enquired, wanting to carry on with the conversation. She figured there was nothing better to do…after all, she was just laying, helpless, in some stupid cave, "Did you train with some tutor or did you just learn for fun?" Cloud didn't answer for a moment.

"No. I was in SOLDIER." Yuffie's eyes widened at his words.

"SOLDIER?" She repeated, thinking of the conflicts that had happened between Shinra and Wutai. Cloud nodded his head with an unreadable expression on his face, "W-Why did you join up to SOLDIER?" Cloud shrugged in response to her question.

"I had a couple of reasons," He replied, "Nothing impressive though…mainly because I was just some stupid kid." That thought threw Yuffie slightly as she tried to imagine Cloud as a kid. She just pictured mini Cloud but with huge hair.

"But that doesn't matter now," Cloud continued, attracting Yuffie's attention again, "I quit."

"Why?" Yuffie asked after a moment or two. Cloud glanced at her.

"Because I never got anywhere with it," He told her. Yuffie frowned but Cloud didn't seem to want to go into any more detail than that. He glanced at his phone that lay on the floor nearby before getting to his feet.

"You need another antidote," He informed her as he pulled out a small bottle from his bag. He walked over to where Yuffie lay and handed the bottle to her. She took it from him but had no idea what to do with it, "Just drink it." She looked from Cloud back to the bottle again before taking a small sip.

"Bleugh…that tastes gross!" She exclaimed, "There's no way I'm drinking that!" Cloud cast her an unimpressed look before shrugging.

"Fine, just let yourself die then," He stated as he walked away from her. Yuffie puffed out her cheeks in annoyance but turned back to the bottle again. Grimacing, she held her nose and quickly downed the rest of the liquid. She chocked as the antidote seemed to burn her throat and gagged at the vile taste. Cloud was walking back over her with a different bottle in his hands and held it to her. Yuffie eyed it suspiciously.

"What else are you trying to kill me with?" She asked.

"It's a potion," Cloud informed her, "You use one of these to heal your wounds." Yuffie took the bottle from him and inspected it curiously.

"Really?" She replied, "How does it work?"

"You just rub it onto the place where you've been injured," Cloud explained to the ninja, "It takes a while to kick in but there very effective." Yuffie continued to study the bottle for an moment before a sudden thought dawned on her.

"Wait a minute," She looked at Cloud with a horrified expression, "You've been _touching _me?!" Cloud turned to look back at her; an expression of surprise lined his face.

"No, I've not been using potions on you yet" He defended himself quickly but Yuffie cocked an eyebrow at him. Cloud quickly changed the subject, "Look, use that potion and get some rest." Yuffie's expression remained for a moment before she turned back to look at the potion held in her hand.

"Yes sir…."

Yuffie found herself being woken from her sleep by the sound of someone's phone ringing. She groaned in annoyance as the phone continued to beep.

"Cloud…answer your stupid phone…" She grumbled but there was no response. She flicked one of her eyes open but she couldn't see any sign of the ex-SOLDIER.

"Cloud?" She repeated, just double checking that he definitely wasn't there. She frowned, wondering where he'd disappeared too. The phone continued to ring in the meanwhile and she noticed it, not far from the fire.

"_Wow…this person is persistent,"_ She thought to herself as the phone rang away. Just as it felt like it would never stop, there was a little 'beep' as the phone went onto voicemail.

"Hey Cloud, it's me," It was a female voice that spoke and Yuffie strained her ears to listen carefully, "It's been a while since you spoke to me last and I was just wondering how you were and what you were up to." There was a slight pause.

"Listen, if you have some free time, why don't you come and visit?" The voice continued after a moment, "I mean, it'd be nice to see you again and just catch up with things."

"Anyway, I just thought I'd ring. Hopefully I'll speak to you soon." There was another 'beep' as the voicemail finished and Yuffie breathed thankfully. It was at that moment when she noticed that Cloud had been stood in the entrance to the cave. She looked at him but he was looking at the phone that had just switched off. He had an unreadable expression on his face.

"Why didn't you answer it?" Cloud turned to look at her in surprise; he hadn't realised that she was awake. He turned away from her and walked back over to the fire, but didn't offer an answer. Yuffie rolled her eyes, feeling slightly annoyed at his secrecy bur Cloud had sat himself down beside the fire again.

"How are you feeling?" He asked after a moment or two of silence.

"Better," Yuffie replied, turning to look back up at the ceiling.

"Good," Came Cloud's reply, "Just take it easy and you'll be fine." Yuffie couldn't stop the slight smile that tugged at the corner of her lips at the thought of Cloud's concern for her. Yet it died down as they both fell into silence again. Yuffie started twiddling her thumbs out of boredom before glancing at the blonde again.

"Who was on the phone anyway?" She enquired, wanting to start a conversation. Cloud didn't reply and Yuffie sighed, "Fine, be like that…jerk." She heard Cloud give a faint laugh and it triggered off her own small smile.

"We'll give this a few more days," Cloud told her, "Then we'll head back to Wutai when you feel well enough." Yuffie's smile faded at these words. She'd forgotten about that; after all, Cloud had been hired by her father and she was sure he was under orders to bring her back to Wutai. Uncertainty hit her; she didn't really want to go back, even after her recent disaster here. Cloud noticed the ninja's unusual silence and frowned slightly.

"You alright Yuffie?" He asked. Yuffie turned her head to look at him before giving a brief smile.

"I'm fine," She replied hurriedly. She noticed his concerned expression and she sighed in annoyance, "Honestly...sheesh, you're annoying." Cloud rolled his eyes at her and turned to look at the fire. Yuffie turned her attention back to the ceiling again, thinking of what she was going to do now.

"_Well Yuffie…"_ She thought to herself as she lay there, _"So much for your grand escape…"_

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Okie dokie, I'll update this as soon as I can. Please be cool and leave me good feedback and reviews cause it makes this sad girl happy. Hee hee.


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry for the delay in updating, but I guess it's here now. Anyways, thank you for the reviews last time. Daijime - you're reviews make me laugh. Thanks  
Anyhoo, enjoy._

**Chapter 6**

The next few days really dragged for Yuffie. Although she was now able to get up and walk again, Cloud had insisted that she stayed inside the cave at all time.

"Why!" Yuffie had exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips.

"Because I don't want you running around and getting lost," Cloud replied as he cleaned the blade of his sword; Yuffie noticed that he'd been doing that a lot recently.

"Besides," He continued, not waiting for Yuffie to respond, "What happens if you run into another set of monsters again?"

"I'd kick their ass," Yuffie stated but Cloud rolled his eyes at her.

"Just like you did last time huh?" He commented, causing Yuffie's cheeks to go a slight shade of red. She didn't like talking about that…it had become a sort of sore point to her.

"I was just unprepared," She snapped, "I can look after myself. Just let me outside; I'm gagging for fresh air." Cloud merely shook his head in response.

"That's not a good idea," He said as he did so. Yuffie puffed out her cheeks and slumped down on the floor with her arms folded in a sulky fashion.

"Fine," She huffed, "But if I go blind because of the lack of light, I'm so gonna kick your ass." Cloud didn't reply to this comment.

Yuffie didn't know how long she'd been stuck in this cave. She'd resorted to throwing daggers at the cave walls to pass the time but that soon got boring. She sat down on the floor and blew a strand of hair out of her face.

"_Ugh…this sucks,_" She thought to herself, just as she saw Cloud returning from another of his mysterious disappearances. She followed him with her eyes for a moment.

"Cloud…." She began, causing the blonde to turn and look at her, "Does your hair always do that?" Cloud blinked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Is that why you go out all the time? Do you have to use a whole can of hairspray to make it stay like that? Does it feel like straw or does it feel normal? If you wash it, does it dry like that naturally?" Cloud blinked at her again.

"I don't know…." He replied and Yuffie cocked an eyebrow at him, before letting another smile appear on her face.

"Cloud, can I have a look at your materia?" She asked. Cloud looked at her for a minute before remembering the incident that had happened a few days ago.

"No," He answered and her smile instantly vanished. She pulled a funny face and flung herself backwards onto the floor.

"Gah…I'm so bored!" She exclaimed as she did so. Cloud glanced at her before going to put his sword down beside the far wall.

"Find something to do then," He told her.

"Like what?"

"I dunno…why don't you practise with your throwing blades or something?" He suggested.

"What do you think I've been doing for the past few hundred years I've been stuck in here?" She snapped. Cloud glanced at her as he sat down on the floor.

"Well, you're healthy enough to travel back to Wutai tomorrow," He informed her and Yuffie sat up abruptly.

"What?" She blurted. Cloud turned away from her and began rummaging through his bag.

"I said we'll be travelling back to Wutai tomorrow," He repeated before handing her a potion he'd pulled out of his bag, "Here, it's about time you used another one of these." Yuffie took the potion from him but said nothing. She turned away and sat facing the wall. Cloud watched her from the corner of his eye.

"Why'd you run off anyway?" Yuffie didn't reply straight away, though she was surprised that he hadn't asked that question a little sooner.

"I just wanted to get away from everything," She told him and Cloud glanced at her again.

"What do you mean 'everything'?" Cloud enquired and Yuffie absentmindedly began prodding the ground with her index finger.

"It's just, I'm fed up with everyone's expectations," She explained before pulling a face and putting on a funny voice, "Oh, you're the future heiress of Wutai, shouldn't you start acting like one? Stop getting yourself into fights, stop climbing up Da Chao, stop having fun and go be some 'stuck up their own ass' future ruler." Yuffie paused for a moment.

"It sucks," She continued, "I mean, it's not like I _wanted _to be the heiress. I just wanna go out and have an adventure, you know? Maybe travel the world, fight a couple of monsters here and there…not get stuck in some stupid town."

"Surely you can't hate the town that much?" Cloud asked and Yuffie sighed.

"No, I just hate the responsibility," She replied before glancing over at the blonde, "Do you know what it's like to have some responsibly that you don't want placed on your shoulders?" Cloud looked away from her and focused his gaze on the fire in front of him.

"Yeah, I do," He replied. Yuffie looked at him for a moment with a curious expression but then decided against pressing him for answers.

"I'd just had enough," Yuffie continued, "I needed to get out of there before I went crazy." Silence fell over the two of them for a few moments. Cloud's gaze was still fixed on the flames and Yuffie watched him from the corner of her eye. He was weird sometimes. Cloud got to his feet unexpectedly, causing Yuffie to blink in surprise.

"You need to apply that potion," Cloud stated before Yuffie could even ask him what he was doing, "I'll be back in a few moments." Yuffie said nothing, for once, and just followed him out of the cave with her eyes.

--

Yuffie stretched her arms above her head and grinned as she was greeted by a cool breeze.

"I feels so gooooood to be alive!" She exclaimed as she walked out of the cave. She danced around on the spot for a few moments, until she got dizzy and stumbled slightly. Cloud rolled his eyes at the ninja as he made his way over to his parked motorcycle. Once Yuffie had steadied herself, she skipped over to Cloud and watched him as he put his sword in the weapon compartment.

"Are we going on your bike?" She asked, even though it was a kinda dumb question.

"It shouldn't take us long to get back to Wutai," He informed her and her smile faded slightly.

"Greeeeat," She replied unenthusiastically but Cloud ignored her. He sat down on his bike and started up the engine. Yuffie blinked at him; she'd never been on a bike before.

"What am I supposed to hold onto?" She asked, although feeling a little stupid.

"Just sit down and hold onto me so you don't fall off," He instructed her but she just cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I bet you'd love that," She commented and Cloud rolled his eyes at her again.

"Fine, just hold onto the back of the bike," He replied, "But it won't be as safe." Yuffie didn't move forward; she just placed her hands on her hips.

"You just want me to hold you, don't you?" She stated.

"What!" Cloud exclaimed, his cheeks going slightly red, "N-No, it just keeps you steady. Everyone else does when I give them a lift on my bike."

"Why, who else has been for a ride on your bike?" Yuffie enquired.

"Just people," Cloud answered quickly but Yuffie didn't look convinced. Cloud scowled slightly, "Look, do you want a lift or not?"

"Not really, no," Yuffie told him and Cloud's scowl deepened.

"Just get on the bike," He snapped before turning away from her. Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him but sat down on the back on of the bike anyway. She held onto the back of the bike, just to make a point. Cloud revved the engine and the bike shot off. Yuffie hadn't been expecting this and yelped before grabbing hold of Cloud to steady herself.

"Don't do that again!" She exclaimed over the noise of the engine but Cloud just smirked at her. Yuffie glared at the back of his head but didn't let go of him. As the bike began to get faster, and the road got bumpier, Yuffie found her stomach lurching horribly. She clutched Cloud tighter in attempt to ease the sickness that was creeping up from her stomach but to no avail. After a few more minutes, Yuffie gave a groan and leaned her head against Cloud's back.

"Cloud…I feel ill," She moaned. Cloud could only just hear her over the noise of the engine and rolled his eyes slightly, although there was a faint smile on his face.

"We're not far off," He informed her, "Can you hang in there for a few more minutes?"

"Ugh…ok," Yuffie replied, "But hurry up…or I'll barf all over your nice and shiny bike."

"You might feel a little better if you just take some deep breaths," Cloud advised her, "And try not to read anything, cause that will just make it worse."

"What the heck am I supposed to read anyway?" Yuffie snapped; her travel sickness was making her a little cranky.

"I was only trying to help," Cloud shrugged.

"Just hurry up," Came her response, causing him to roll his eyes yet again.

Cloud pulled the bike up just outside Wutai and glanced over his shoulder to see Yuffie's head leaning against his back.

"You alright?" He enquired and she shook her head slightly.

"No," She replied without moving.

"Do you get travel sickness a lot?" Cloud asked, wanting to take her mind off of it.

"I dunno," Came her response.  
"I used to get it all the time when I was in SOLDIER," Cloud told her, "My friend would have to talk me through it and help me take my mind off it." Yuffie made no attempt to respond. She just sat there with her head resting on his back and her hair covering her face. Cloud sat there in silence for a few moments, just to let her rest.

"Hey Spikes…" Yuffie began and Cloud frowned at the name she'd given him, "You got any anti-sickness things in that bag of yours?"

"Sorry," Cloud replied, "This is one that you're just gonna have to get over on your own." Yuffie groaned before sitting upright and slowly getting off the bike. She took a few steps before stumbling slightly. She was surprised to feels Cloud's hands steadying her and she glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Err…thanks," She mumbled before turning away from him. She decided to take Cloud's advice, for once, and stood still to take a few deep breaths for a moment or two. Cloud watched her with a faint smile on his face.

"It sucks, huh?" He commented and Yuffie nodded before sitting down on a nearby rock.

"I remember when I went out on this boat with a couple of guys in Wutai before," She began and Cloud listened as he leaned against his bike, "I'd only been out there about ten minutes and I threw up in the boat. I've never felt that ill before…." Cloud gave her a faint smile.

"I was on this mission to Nibelheim and we were travelling by truck…" He paused for a moment and smiled again, "If you think travelling on a bike is bad, try travelling in a truck full of soldiers on some stupidly bumpy road. It was horrible."

"I can imagine," Yuffie replied, smiling also. After a moment or two, she got to her feet and walked over to Cloud, "I guess I better go and face the wrath of my father…."

"You sure you're feeling better?" Cloud asked and Yuffie nodded.

"Yeah," She replied before giving a small grin, "But if he annoys me, I'll just throw up on him as revenge." Cloud rolled his eyes at her comment.

* * *

_Cloud rolls his eyes alot...Oo. Anyway, hopefully I'll update sooner. R&R? _


	7. Chapter 7

_H'okay, another update. This is a little shorter than I orginally planned but I decided to split this orginal chapter up to make it into two different ones instead because it'll be better. I'm clever see? (ok...I couldn't fool anyone with thaaaat statment.)  
__Again, cheers the reviews so far. It's funny to see you notice how truely stupid some of Cloud's comments are (yeah, like we all just sit reading on the back of motorbike...my favourite past time.) But yeah, it's appreciated that you find it worthy of sharing your thoughts on it.  
Unfortuantly, there's no puke flying all over Godo but I wish it was after writing this...  
Hope you enjoy the latest one!_

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**Chapter 7**

"Well, have you got anything to say to explain your behaviour?" Yuffie glared at her father but said nothing. Godo returned the glare, equally as angry as his daughter.

"Do you realise how much danger you could have been in!?" He started up again, "You're lucky you didn't get yourself killed out there!"

"Well I didn't, did I?" Yuffie retorted as she folded her arms, "Besides, Cloud was there-"

"Only because I'm paying him to be," Godo cut in and Yuffie stared at him. She'd forgotten that her father had been paying Cloud to 'look after' her. It had felt like Cloud had come looking for her of his own accord, but he hadn't. She felt a slight pang in her stomach but quickly forced it to one side.

"_Obviously he was only thinking of the money…it's not like I'm bothered anyway," _She thought to herself as she did so.

"It seems that I can't trust you on your own anymore," Godo continued, attracting the ninja's attention again, "From this evening, you'll be moving back into your old bedroom-"

"What!" Yuffie exclaimed. It seemed Godo had been expecting this outburst and didn't blink when she raised her voice, "But it's _my _house!"

"Yes but who's paying for it?" Godo replied and Yuffie glared at him again, "You will be staying in this building so I can keep an eye on you, just to make sure you don't try and pull of some stupid stunt like this again."

"This is so unfair!" Yuffie complained but Godo shrugged indifferently.

"So is life," He replied. Yuffie's face darkened somewhat as she turned away from him.

"Bastard," She muttered but loud enough for him to hear her. Godo glared at his daughter as he heard her comment but she was already on her way out.

"Yuffie Kisaragi, get back in here now!" He cried but Yuffie ignored him as she left the room absolutely seething. She just needed to get away from the building, so she picked up the pace and nearly ran. Ignoring the funny glances she got from passers by, she ran to her usual 'thinking' spot, situated atop Da Chao. She clambered up the worn path until she reached the highest point she could. She sat herself down and looked over the town below, still fuming from Godo's latest decision. Why did he seem to do everything she hated just to spite her? She watched a group of birds fly overhead and sighed inwardly.

"_You guys don't realise how lucky you are to be so free,_" She thought as they disappeared off into the horizon. Yuffie closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She felt the gentle breeze soothing and she just sat, listening to the sounds of the town below her. Suddenly, she heard footsteps and someone called up to her.

"Yuffie," She opened one her eyes and looked down with an irritated expression on her face. When she saw who it was however, her annoyance faded into a frown.

"Cloud…what are you doing here?" She asked, before sliding down the statue and landing in front of him. She noticed he was holding a bottle in his hand and frowned slightly.

"I thought you might want a drink," He told her, passing the bottle to her. She took it, though eyeing it suspiciously, "It's just some kind of juice I picked up from the Turtles Paradise…nothing alcoholic before you ask." Yuffie pouted but opened it up anyway. She took a mouthful of the surprisingly sweet liquid and gave a Cloud a small smile.

"Thanks," Cloud nodded his head slightly.

"Don't mention it," He replied, "It looked like you needed cheering up." Yuffie cocked an eyebrow.

"And how were you intending to do that?" She asked, causing Cloud to blink at her. She gave a little laugh and returned to drinking from the bottle. She turned to look at the town again and the two of them fell into a small silence.

"I guess I'll leave you alone for a while," Cloud spoke after a moment or two. Yuffie glanced at him but didn't say anything, "I'll be around if you need me."

"Why would I need you?" Yuffie asked, turning away from him again, "I can take care of myself." Cloud said nothing, but made his way back to the town with a faint smile on his face.

The sky had darkened considerably when Yuffie finally climbed down Da Chao. She made her way through the town, ignoring the glances of the other residents and the few tourists that were hanging around. As she passed the items shop, she caught sight of her house from the corner of her eye. With a slight scowl, she marched over towards it.

"_If he thinks he can keep me out my own house, he's got another thing coming," _She thought to herself as she passed the weapons shop. When she reached the building, she stood at the front door with her hands on her hips. She grabbed the door handle and pulled it but it didn't move. She scowled again and tugged it harder yet it still didn't budge. She felt her temper rising but took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Ok, focus Yuffie…" She said to herself as she swung her arms around and readied herself. When she was ready, she launched herself at the door in an attempt to force it open. She collided, shoulder first, into the firm wood but it still didn't move. Grinding her teeth, Yuffie again threw her whole body weight into the oak but it had no effect.

"GAHHH!! I HATE YOU!!" She exclaimed, slamming her clenched fists against the wood, imagining it was her father's face. After a few moments of relentless pounding, Yuffie gave up. She slammed her head against it instead and stood there, breathing hard.

"Oh, hi Yuffie," A familiar voice floated over to her and she screwed her face up in annoyance. Slowly, she titled her head to see Shu stood there. Yuffie was satisfied to see that he still sported several large bruises.

"What do you want?" Yuffie snarled through gritted teeth. Shu appeared not to notice.

"I think your doors locked," He pointed out and she groaned inwardly.

"Don't you think I know that," Yuffie snapped at him. Once again, Shu didn't notice the tone of voice Yuffie was using.

"I heard you were moving back into your father's house anyway," Shu replied. Yuffie made no attempt to respond but her jaw started working as she began to grind her teeth together, "Your father's such a generous man," Shu continued, still obvious, "He let you back in even after you ran away. You've betrayed his trust so many times but every time, he's welcomed you back with open arms. He's such a wonderful man-"

"Hey Shu," Yuffie cut him off, "Have you ever wondered what it feels like to have a giant shuriken impaled in your chest?" Shu noticed that Yuffie was now toying with the blades attached to her and gulped. Yuffie turned her head to face him and her face lit up in a creepy smile.

"Wanna find out…? Nyuk nyuk,"

--

Yuffie turned away from her father and folded her arms. Godo was glaring at her yet again and she was getting sick of seeing that expression on his face.

"You've been back in Wutai less than a day," Godo began and Yuffie rolled her eyes, "Less than a day and you're already getting yourself into fights!"

"It was more of a beating than a fight to be honest," Yuffie corrected him, "I mean, he wasn't able to put up a decent fight. I was like hitting a living punching bag that squealed when your fist collided with it." Godo didn't look amused.

"Your behaviour over these past few weeks has been completely intolerable," Godo stated but Yuffie just shrugged at him.

"So has yours," She replied and Godo just blinked at her, "You're acting more of a jerk than I thought possible." Godo looked fuming by now but Yuffie didn't really care.

"Get…to…your…room," Godo stressed through gritted teeth.

"Can't," Yuffie replied, "You locked the door."

"Get to your room now…" Godo repeated in a dangerous voice. Yuffie glanced over her shoulder at her father. When she noticed the vein bulging in his forehead, she decided that it might be a good time to get out of here. She hastily made her way out of the room and along the corridor. After walking a few moments, she saw Cloud walking in the other direction. She looked at him with a careful expression, unsure of who's side he was taking in this 'family argument'. After their 'talk' earlier, she was secretly hoping that he'd side with her. Cloud frowned at her however when she approached.

"Why don't you just lay off the fighting for once?" He asked in a calm voice. Yuffie's expression plummeted to a scowl.

"I _knew _you'd side with him!" She exclaimed, causing Cloud to blink at her, "You just kiss his ass don't you?"

"Yuffie…I was only-" Cloud tried to say but Yuffie cut him off.

"Sell it somewhere else chocobo head," She snapped, "Why don't you just go in there and kiss his ass better?" She then turned around and stormed off down the corridor before Cloud could even open his mouth to reply. However, Yuffie came to a halt half way down the corridor. Cloud frowned, wondering why she'd come to a sudden stop. Yuffie turned around to look at him before scowling and sticking her middle finger up at him. Cloud blinked again.

"Yuffie," He began but she'd already turned her back to him again. Cloud watched her storm off around the corner and sighed inwardly.

_God...Shu is annyoing ¬¬ Anyways, you're thoughts and wisdom on Cloud's retarded advice?  
Ha, just ignore me...I'm happy that I've completed my course essay...  
Anyways, R&R?? _


	8. Chapter 8

_Ok, I got time to write the next chapter over the weekend so here it is.  
Cheers for the reviews and hits last time!  
I appologise for my meanness to Cloud...I was being harsh but he's kinda cool in this chapter anyways.  
_

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**Chapter 8**

Yuffie found herself being suddenly woken from her sleep. Her eyes widened in surprise as she was forced to leave the dream she was in and found herself in her old bedroom. It took her a few moments to realise what had just happened as she lay there, facing the wall.

"Yuffie get up," A familiar voice reached her ears and she turned her head to see Cloud standing over her. She stared at him for a few moments before her eyes widened.

"Cloud-" She tried to exclaim but he silenced her by placing his hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened even more as she tried to pull his hand away. When she couldn't, she started struggling from under his grip.

"Yuffie…" Cloud tried to say from under her struggling but she didn't give him the chance to speak. She'd grabbed the nearest object she could, which happened to be the light stand, and hit him hard across the head. Cloud stumbled backwards, holding the part of his head where the light stand had struck him. Yuffie watched him from where she was sat; the 'weapon' was still clutched loosely in her hand. She was breathing hard and her eyes were still wide out of a mixture of shock and fear. Cloud straightened up, still rubbing his head and looked at her with an annoyed expression.

"What the heck was that for," He hissed in an irritated voice but Yuffie didn't say anything. Shaking his head slightly, Cloud took a few steps closer to her but Yuffie had already jumped to her feet.

"Get any closer and I'll make sure I leave a permanent dent in your head," She threatened and Cloud frowned at her.

"Stop being stupid and give me that lamp shade," He told her, holding out his hand to take the lamp from her but she didn't seem to want to part from it. Feeling aggravated by her lack of co-operation, Cloud made a grab for it. Yuffie yelped but held onto for dear life and attempted to wrestle it out of Cloud's grip.

"For…Leviathan's…sake…Yuffie," Cloud spoke through gritted teeth as they stumbled around her bedroom, trying to secure the lamp shade themselves. Yuffie glared at him but her grip on the 'weapon' didn't slacken. After a few moments, Cloud tugged the lamp from her grip and threw it across the floor. Yuffie stumbled backwards into the wall, her eyes were wide with fear again as Cloud looked at her. She stood there for a few moments just looking at him, before she suddenly tried to make a run for it. Cloud seemed to be expecting this and grabbed her arm before she passed him. He pulled her to him and placed his hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Yuffie shhh," He tried to tell her over her muffled cries, "Please just be quiet for a minute." Yuffie still tried to struggle out of his grip but he was too strong for her. Suddenly, they heard voices outside and Yuffie froze. Taking advantage of this, Cloud pulled her backwards so they were both hidden by her wardrobe. He pressed his back against the wood and turned his head to face the door. Yuffie heard the door open and two voices reached her ears.

"Dammit," An annoyed voice spoke first, "She's already gone."

"I bet that 'bodyguard' her father's hired got to her first," Her eyes widened at the second voice's words.

"_They were looking for me?_" She thought to herself before glancing at Cloud's hand that was still placed over her mouth, "_If Cloud hadn't woken me then I'd be so screwed right now…" _

"So, what now?" The first voice asked.

"We go looking for them, don't we?" The second stated as if it was obvious.

"Alright, I'll go with Brennen and we'll check around town," The first replied, "You go with Rivers and check around the perimeter. They couldn't have gotten that far right?"

"Just remember," The second spoke after a few moments of silence, "We need her alive otherwise it won't work."

"Does that mean no bruises?"

"No…I'm sure bruises are fine." Yuffie heard the first one laugh, causing a chill to shoot down her spine. They waited until the sound of their footsteps had faded away before Cloud let go of her. She stepped away from him, still shocked from what she'd just heard.

"What the hell was that?" She spoke, her voice low so those guys didn't hear her. She turned around to see Cloud holding a rucksack out to her.

"Grab a few things," He instructed her and she eyed the bag for a moment or so before taking it off of him.

"What the heck am I supposed to take anyway?" She asked as she opened the doors to her wardrobe.

"Just grab whatever," He stated and Yuffie glanced at him before grabbing some clothes and shoving them in the bag, "Come on, we have to go."

"But I'm still in my PJ's," She protested as she pulled her boots on and walked over to him without lacing them up, "It's probably freezing outside." Cloud took the bag off of her and threw it over his shoulder before walking over to the door.

"Grab your throwing blades," He instructed her as if he'd never heard the last sentence she'd said. Yuffie hastily snatched up her weapons from the bedside table and strapped them to her thigh. When she finished she ran over to Cloud, who was checking the corridor was clear.

"Ok," He began as she stood next to him, "If we get separated then we'll meet at that cave outside Wutai, got it?"

"I can't remember where that is!" Yuffie stressed but Cloud just ignored her.

"Stick close to me, ok?" He told her and she nodded her head. They made their way onto the corridor. Cloud gripped the handle of his sword just in case of attack and Yuffie's hand rested on her throwing blades. The next corner was also clear, so they progressed towards the front door. As they reached it, Cloud gestured for Yuffie to stay out of view as he checked outside. Reluctantly, Yuffie did as she was told. Even though she was a little anxious to know why they were looking for her, she was itching for a proper fight. Yet she decided she better do what Cloud said. After all, he had just saved her ass back there.

"_Well, saved their asses," _She thought to herself _"I mean, if they had tried to kidnap me I'd have just kicked their butts." _Well, she just told herself that anyway but she doubted that would have happened.

"Coast is clear for now," Cloud told her and she turned to look at him, "If we stick to the edge of this building we'll find my bike. I parked it round the back earlier." Yuffie nodded to show that she'd understood, although she wasn't looking forward to another bike journey. They made their way outside; still on the look out to make sure there wasn't any of those guys hanging around. With their backs against the building, they quickly but carefully made their way towards where Cloud had parked his bike. Luckily, they managed to reach it without any trouble. Cloud made his way towards it and sat himself down. Yuffie followed after him and took her place behind him.

"We could be in for a bumpy ride," He warned her, "Just be careful."  
"Great…." She replied, rolling her eyes as she spoke. Cloud started up the engine; it seemed to roar in the silence surrounding the town.

"Well, if they didn't know we were here, they do now," Yuffie commented over the noise of the engine.

"Just hold on," He told her before the bike shot off, causing her to yelp in surprise. She grabbed hold of him for dear life as the bike zoomed over the bridge and past the Turtle's Paradise.  
"Hey, there they are!" One of those guys shouted as they shot past him. Two others appeared and watched them in annoyance. One of them took out a mobile phone and hastily punched in a phone number.

"Rivers, their on their way out now," He told the guy on the other end of the line, "Make sure they don't escape."

The bike shot through the town and straight out of Wutai's entrance, kicking up dirt behind them. Yuffie glanced over her shoulder and gave a triumphant grin.

"Well that was easy," She stated. No sooner had the words left her mouth, two other motorbikes seemed to appear out of no where. Yuffie slapped her forehead, "Me and my big mouth…" Cloud glanced over his shoulder also and watched as the bikes draw closer to them.

"Hold on…." He told her and she nodded, before grabbing hold of him. Cloud sped the bike up and Yuffie buried her face in his back to try and prevent the wind from slapping her cheeks. Cloud glanced over his shoulder again but the bikes had caught up to them.

"Dammit…" He cursed under his breath before looking at the ninja clutching onto him.

"Yuffie," He spoke her name but she couldn't hear him over the noise of the wind, "Yuffie." She heard him that time and looked up at him.

"How good are you with those throwing blades?" He asked and she frowned at him.

"Are you serious? I'm like _the _greatest ever," Cloud rolled his eyes at her arrogance.

"Look, I need you to burst their tires with your throwing blades," Cloud informed her, "Otherwise we'll never loose these guys." Yuffie nodded to show that she understood before letting go of him. Slowly and steadily, she turned herself around so that she was now facing the attackers and grabbed one of her blades. She aimed it carefully at the attacker's wheel but just as she threw it, Cloud swerved the bike. The blade flew from her grip and impaled itself in a nearby tree.

"Keep the bike still you idiot!" She cried over the noise of the engine, "How else am I supposed to hit them if you keep moving around."

"It's not easy you know," Cloud shot back and Yuffie grumbled under her breath before reaching for another blade. It took her a few moments to aim before she hurled the blade towards their attacker. It flew through the air at surprising speed and hit the bikes tire dead on. As the tire burst, the biker lost control of his vehicle and it swerved off the path. The other biker was going too fast to react and his bike collided with the fallen one. Yuffie watched them with a grin on her face and punched the air.

"Oh yeah!" She exclaimed, "That's why you don't mess with the Kisaragi, baby!" Carefully, she turned herself back around again as they left the two bikers behind in the dust. Soon the grin faded from her face.

"Cloud…" She began and the blonde glanced over his shoulder to look at her, "I need to puke."

_How much mroe trouble can she get into...crazy.  
Anyhoo, reviews would be cool. I'll get this updated asap.  
Thanking you._


	9. Chapter 9

_Ok I finally updated, I'm sorry it took longer than usual. No excuse really. I could say I was studiying for exams but...yeeah.  
Hopefully, now I'm on study leave, I should be able to update quicker. I'm hoping anyways cause I like writing this story lols.  
Thanks for the reviews and hits...enjoy._

_--_

**Chapter 9**

"Now what are we doing?" Yuffie enquired as Cloud skidded the bike to a halt. Her stomach lurched unpleasantly as he did so.

"We're crossing over from Wutai," He explained, pointing to what appeared to be a small dock not far from where the bike had stopped.

"I didn't know there was a boat crossing here," Yuffie commented as Cloud stepped off his bike.

"Yeah, it's only recently been set up though," He replied as Yuffie hopped off the bike. She regretted that a second later however, as her stomach knotted unpleasantly again, "Not everyone likes flying here by airship so they set up a small crossing here. It's just a little more convenient for us." Yuffie glanced up at him.

"I don't fancy flying much anyway…" She mumbled as she clutched her stomach. A short silence fell over the both of them. Cloud anxiously started pacing up and down as they waited for the boat to arrive. Yuffie was doubled over Cloud's bike, trying to stop herself from brining up her lunch. When she finally felt a little better, she slumped down to sit on the floor and blew her hair out of her face.

"Who were those guys anyway?" She asked, breaking that silence and causing Cloud to glance at her. He shrugged in response.

"I don't know," He replied, turning away from her again, "But we'll have to get out of Wutai and lay low for a while." Yuffie nodded in agreement before sighing.

"What a pain…."

The boat arrived around half an hour later. There were hardly any passengers, which would be expected at this time of night. Cloud paid the man and pushed his bike onto the small vessel. Yuffie followed after him, suddenly anxious. Her previous experiences on a boat hadn't been pleasant ones and didn't really fill her with much optimism. She sat herself down on the seat beside Cloud and nervously began twiddling her thumbs. Cloud noticed her odd behaviour and frowned slightly at her.

"You alright?" He asked and she glanced at him before smiling weakly.

"I'm fine," She answered quickly before changing the conversation, "So where are we heading to anyway?"

"Well, I figured we should stop off at Rocket Town for the rest of tonight," He informed her, "Just to get a little bit of sleep." Yuffie nodded her head to show she'd been listening.

"And then what?"

"I've got friend in a village nearby…I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we stayed there for a while, just until things smooth over a little." He glanced at Yuffie again, "It's going to be a crazy few days but we should be fine as long as we keep ourselves to ourselves and don't cause any trouble." Yuffie cocked an eyebrow.

"Why do I feel like that last bit was aimed at me?" She commented and Cloud gave a small humoured laugh.

"You've not got a perfect record," He replied and Yuffie gave a small 'hmph' in response. The boat started moving and Yuffie, who wasn't expecting it to, jumped slightly. This caused Cloud to give another little laugh and Yuffie glared at him.

"Am I funny, huh chocobo head?" She threatened but Cloud just shrugged at her. She continued to glare at him for a few more moments before she turned away from him.

"So, does this friend of yours know we're staying over for a while?" She asked. Cloud said nothing for a few moments, "Take that as a no then."

"It'll be fine," Cloud replied but Yuffie cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't you think you better ask first?" She stated, "I mean, I'd be pissed if a friend of mine brought some random hot girl to my house and asked to stop over." Cloud rolled his eyes at her statement and Yuffie gave a small grin.

"I'll phone them up when we get to Rocket town," Cloud told her and Yuffie's grin grew.

The boat journey didn't last long but it was enough to bring Yuffie's travel sickness back again. Cloud felt sorry for her after seeing her throw up for what seemed like the thousandth time over the railing. All he could do was try and comfort her about it, but she had a tendency to get cranky when she got sick. So, every time he said something, she shot back some sarcastic comment.

Yuffie was sat on a rock as she waited for Cloud to wheel his bike off the boat. She watched him as he did so, doing anything to take her mind off her sickness. He sat down on it and revved up the engine so she took that as her cue that they were leaving. She made her way over towards the bike and sat down behind him.

"How long will it take us to get to Rocket town?" She enquired over the noise of the engine.

"It won't take us long from here," He replied and Yuffie rolled her eyes.

"That's helpful," She muttered. The bike shot off suddenly, causing her to yelp yet again, "Will you stop doing that!" Cloud just smirked at her.

--

They reached Rocket town around half an hour after they'd left the dock. Yuffie got off the bike, grumbling about the state of her boots. Cloud had decided to take an off road short cut which involved several dirt paths, much to Yuffie's displeasure. Cloud ignored her mutterings and made his way towards one of the buildings before pushing the door open. After hearing the door close, Yuffie blinked in surprise and ran after him. Cloud was stood talking to the woman behind the desk and Yuffie wandered over to him, glancing around the room as she did so. Yuffie, who'd never left her homeland, had only ever seen the traditional Wutaian decorations, so it all seemed a little weird to her. There were no ceremonial weapons nor beautifully decorated pottery to decorate the rooms. Instead, it was just plain white walls with occasional painting. Yuffie blinked as a sudden thought hit her. For once in her life she felt vulnerable. She was in some 'alien' town with a totally different culture. She had no idea how far away her home was and the only other person she knew was Cloud.

"I'm sorry but that's the only room we have available right now," The woman's voice snapped Yuffie back into reality.

"It'll be fine," Cloud replied and Yuffie turned to look at him.

"What will be?" She enquired and Cloud glanced at her but didn't answer. Yuffie then turned to look at the woman, "What's wrong with the room?"

"The only room we have available is a double," The woman explained and Yuffie's expression dropped. Cloud took the keys off the woman and pushed Yuffie aside before Yuffie could even speak.

"It's fine," He repeated but Yuffie glared at him, causing the woman behind the reception to look suddenly nervous.

"It's _so_ notfine!" She exclaimed but Cloud had already started pushing her upstairs, "I am not sharing a room with you!"

"We're not really in the situation to be picky," Cloud replied through gritted teeth. Yuffie dug her heels into the floor to stop Cloud from pushing her and folded her arms.

"I don't care," She stated, "There's no way I'm ever sharing a room with you." Cloud glared at her stubbornness.

"What makes you think I'm so happy about this arrangement?" He snapped and Yuffie cocked an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean," She threatened, glaring back at him.

"It's not fun to share a room with a sulky, stubborn teenage 'princess' who doesn't give a dam about anyone but herself." Yuffie looked like she was about to explode.

"Yeah? Well at least I'm not some arrogant, stuck-up-his-own-ass jerk!" She retorted and she noticed Cloud's jaw started working. He pushed the door open with more force than he'd intended, causing it to slam into the wall. He then made his way into the room and Yuffie stalked after him, equally as angry as he was. Just as the woman had said, there was one double bed in the centre of the room. Both Yuffie and Cloud looked at it with reluctance on their faces. They glanced at each other and, upon seeing the same expression, both flung the covers backwards.

"Well, I'm really tired so _I'm_ going to sleep," Yuffie stated, folding her arms in an arrogant manner. Cloud gave her an annoyed expression.

"Yeah, well so am I," He retorted, causing Yuffie to cast him an equally as annoyed expression. She flung herself down on the bed and rolled over so her back was facing him. She didn't even care that she was still wearing her dust covered boots or that her pyjamas were ditched from the journey. She was doing whatever she could to make Cloud uncomfortable but it seemed Cloud had the same idea. The both lay with their backs to each other and as far away from one another as the bed would allow them to. An awkward silence fell over them. Yuffie, who still had the glare on her face, suddenly realised how tired she was. She'd been woken earlier but the events that happened caused her to forget about that. Even though she was determined not to sleep, Yuffie couldn't stop her eyes from closing. Her urge to get some rest seemed to defeat her will not to and she slowly drifted off.

_--_

_Got a bit of travelling to write for next chapter but should be fun  
R&R is cool you know?_


	10. Chapter 10

_True to my words, here's the next chapter lol.  
Thanks for the reviews and hits on the last one. It's appreciated as always smiley face  
Double digits...I've sorta thrown my orginal plan out of the window lol but it's for the better.  
Enjoy._

_--_

**Chapter 10**

Cloud awoke to something unexpected. Yuffie had shifted around in her sleep and had rolled so close to him that her lips were almost touching his. Cloud blinked, before jerking backwards, wishing to put as much space between them as possible. He hadn't realised that he, unlike the Wutaian heiress, hadn't moved in his sleep and therefore, he sent himself rolling over the edge of the bed. He yelped in surprise as he crashed to the floor, taking the majority of the covers with him. Yuffie was woken from her sleep by the uncharacteristic noise Cloud made. She opened one of her eyes and peered over the edge of the bed to see what he was doing. As soon as she saw him lying there, a smirk appeared on her face.

"One point to me I think," She stated and Cloud glared at her, "I knew you'd give in and sleep on the floor."

"That's not what happened," Cloud replied through gritted teeth and Yuffie cocked an eyebrow in an unconvinced fashion.

"Suuuuure," She stated, before rolling to face the other direction. She sprawled herself out with a grin on her face and her eyes closed, "Well, I slept like a log!"

"I noticed," Cloud grumbled as he got to his feet. Yuffie flicked an eye open and grinned at him. Cloud threw the covers over her face, causing her to yelp in surprise. She tried to pull them off her but Cloud grabbed hold of them.

"Cloud!" She exclaimed, but it was muffled due to the covers. Cloud just laughed at her as her arms started flailing around, trying to hit him. After a few moments he let go and Yuffie yanked the covers off her; a scowl lined her face. Cloud just smirked at her.

"I think it's even now," He stated but her scowl didn't disappear.

"I hate you,"

"Good," Yuffie continued to glare at him but Cloud turned away from her. Yuffie watched him as he grabbed his bag with the smirk still playing on his face.

"_God, he thinks he's so good…_" She thought, still scowling, "_Well, if it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he's gonna get._"

"I'm gonna go downstairs to pay for the room," He stated without looking at her, "Get changed and then come and meet me." Yuffie mock saluted while his back was turned.

"Yes _sir_," She replied sarcastically. Cloud ignored her and opened the door before disappearing off down the corridor. Yuffie glowered at the door as it closed but then hauled herself to her feet.

"Who does he think he is anyway," She mumbled to herself as she pulled out a clean top from the bag Cloud had left behind, "Just because he's older than me and my father's making look after me." She took her pyjama top off and pulled the clean one over her head.

"I mean, I didn't even agree to this anyway," She continued talking to herself as she pulled out a pair of shorts, "I don't need anyone to watch over me all the time. I've practically been taking care of myself ever since I was born anyway."

"And so what if he can fight well," She threw her pyjamas back in the bag and zipped it up with more force then she intended, "So what if he has a stupidly massive sword or stupid gravity defying hair or weirdly cool eyes, he's still a jerk." Yuffie threw the bag over her shoulder but paused suddenly.

"Wait, did I just say he had cool eyes?" She shook her head, "No, there not cool…there just weird." She glanced around the room to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything before pushing the door open and making her way along the corridor.

As Yuffie made her way downstairs, she noticed Cloud stood to one side with phone against his ear. He looked strangely uncomfortable for some reason. Yuffie's curiosity got the better of her. She slowed down in her step so she could listen in on the conversation he was having.

"I know I'm not really in the position to ask favours from you," His voice was low; Yuffie had to strain her ears to hear him, "But I promise it won't be for long." There was a slight pause.

"But I feel kinda bad about-" It seemed the person down the phone cut him off mid sentence. Cloud's expression was unreadable from where Yuffie stood. After a few moments, Cloud spoke again.

"Thanks…I really appreciate this," There was another short pause and Yuffie saw a faint smile line Cloud's face, "Alright, I'll see you soon." He put his phone back in his pocket and stared at the wall for a few more moments, seemingly lost in thought. Yuffie took a few more steps closer to him and he turned around.

"You ready?" He asked and Yuffie nodded her head in response, "Alright, let's get going." He began to make his way towards the door and Yuffie ambled after him. When they reached outside Yuffie noticed the absence on his bike and frowned slightly.

"Where's your pride and joy?" She asked casually and Cloud turned to look at her.

"I'm leaving it here," He answered, much to her surprised. He noticed her expression and continued, "I'm concerned about them following bike tracks. I don't want to do anything that will lead them to us." He turned around to continue walking but Yuffie lingered for a minute.

"Or that'll lead them to your friend right?" She asked and Cloud glanced over his shoulder before nodding his head.

"Plus, I don't wanna have to put up with you barfing everywhere," Yuffie's expression dropped into another scowl.

"Jerk," Cloud just smirked at her before he continued on his way.

--

Yuffie didn't know what was worse - putting up with her travel sickness or trekking up what felt like some bloody mountain. Cloud may be some kind of walking machine but Yuffie wasn't used to this at all. And she managed to complain for most of the day, which irritated Cloud to no end.

"I don't care if you're too unfit, just stop bugging me," He snapped at one point and Yuffie puffed her cheeks out.

"I'm not unfit," She protested, "I'm just delicate." Cloud scoffed at her words and Yuffie hurled a stone at him. It hit him directly on the back of the head and he turned around to glare at her.

"Fine, we'll take a break," He grumbled as he rubbed the spot where the stone had struck him. Yuffie smiled sweetly at him before flopping down, rather ungracefully, on the floor. Cloud sat down a on a rock and watched as Yuffie sprawled herself out on the grass. Silence fell over them, which Cloud was thankful for. He didn't know if he could put up with anymore of her complaining. His mind started wandering and Yuffie began pulling up bits of grass. After a few more moments she sighed.

"Cloud," Cloud glanced at her, "I'm bored."

"What?" He said before he could stop himself.

"I'm bored," She repeated.

"You just said you wanted to take a break," Cloud stated, "So that's what we're doing."

"Yeah, but sitting around is boring," She replied and Cloud frowned.

"Well what else are you gonna do?" He asked and Yuffie grinned at him. Cloud blinked; he didn't like that grin that appeared on her face.

"I want you to train with me," He couldn't stop the slightly humoured smile that grew on his face.

"You're not serious are you?" He asked and Yuffie nodded her head.

"Of course I am," She replied, "I haven't trained in a few days and I feel kinda rusty. I just wanna make sure I'm not loosing my touch."

"No, you're just loosing your mind instead," Cloud retorted and she scowled.

"Come on Cloud, it's gives us something to do,"

"No way Yuffie," Cloud stated. If he hit her with his sword he'd send her flying. As much as he'd love to lower her ego, he didn't want to hurt her. Yuffie pouted at his words.

"Not even fist fighting?" She asked and he glanced at her, "Please Cloud…I promise to go easy on you." Cloud folded his arms and said nothing for a few moments.

"Will it shut you up?" He asked and she nodded, "If I win, you promise not to utter another word all night?" Yuffie nodded her head again.  
"And if I win, you'll have to carry me until we get to your friend's house," She replied and Cloud glanced at her. She looked back at him expectantly, "Well…?"

"Fine," He replied and Yuffie grinned before jumping to her feet. Cloud also got to his, though a lot slower than Yuffie did. He put his sword to one side before walking over to her.

"First one to the ground looses," Yuffie told him and he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," No sooner had the words left his mouth, Yuffie swung at him. Her fist collided with his jaw and he stumbled. He hadn't expected that attack, nor had he realized how strong she actually was. Yuffie grinned as she saw the surprised expression.

"Yeah, I can pack a punch," She stated. Cloud glanced at her for a moment, before blocking another punch she sent at him. She aimed a few more at him but Cloud managed to block most of them. One hit his shoulder and another on the left hand side of his chest.

"Aww come on," Yuffie mocked as she sent another blow into his stomach, "At least try to fight back." Cloud blocked two more punches but said nothing.

"How are you gonna win if you don't even try to hit me?" She asked, jabbing his side. She sent a punch for his jaw again but, unexpectedly, he caught hold of her arm. She didn't get chance to register what had happened as Cloud forced her arm upwards and grabbed hold of her leg. Before she knew what was going on, she found herself flat on her back with Cloud looking over her. She blinked in surprise but whether it was from the surprise of being beaten or the surprise at how close his face was to hers, she didn't know. She found herself gazing into his shinning blue eyes. They weren't weird at all; they were fascinating. Cloud looked just as startled as she was as he stared back at her. It felt like seconds were ticking away inside her head and Yuffie found her eyes closing of their own accord. She leaned forwards without even noticing that she was doing it. There was only one intention and it seemed to cloud the rest of her mind.

"That's how I'm gonna win without hitting you," Cloud's voice floated to her ears and her eyes sprung open. He was stood by the rock he'd been sat on and throwing his bag over his shoulder. She frowned; since when had he moved? Cloud glanced over to look at her.

"But I-" She began, her expression was one of confusion. Cloud cut her off before she could finish.

"Remember the terms, Yuffie," He stated, before placing his finger over his lips to remind her. Yuffie blinked at him. She was still trying to figure out what just happened but Cloud had already started on his way again. She scrambled to her feet and snatched her bag up from the floor before jogging after him.

"_What the heck is wrong with me?_"

_--_

_Well...that's all I'm gonna say.  
Just wait until someone else joins in the equation...I've got some good ideas for this one lol.  
Let me know what you think, as you're thoughts and ideas are always welcome :)  
_

_I'll update soon..._


	11. Chapter 11

_Hey, hope everybody had a good bank holiday.  
Got the chance to update so here it is :)  
Shorter chapter this time though but hope you enjoy it anyway.  
Cheers for the reviews and hits last time :)_

_--_

**Chapter 11**

The two of them sat around the campfire in silence. Cloud had suggested that they rest here before finishing off the rest of their journey tomorrow. Since Yuffie wasn't allowed to talk, she had no choice but to agree to his idea. Cloud had rounded up some logs and used his fire materia to create some warmth for them. Yuffie sat gazing into the fire, lost in her own thoughts. She was still trying to make sense of what happened earlier but the more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt. Had she seriously tried to kiss him?

"_It was a moment thing,_" She kept thinking to herself over and over, "_I don't like him…it was just a moment thing." _Maybe if she kept telling herself that she'd believe it. She could see Cloud glancing at her from the corner of her eye and she felt her stomach knot. This time, she couldn't blame it on travel sickness.

"_Oh no…give me a break,"_ She thought to herself as it did so.

"You alright Yuffie?" Cloud's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She glanced at him and he looked back at her expectantly.

"What? I am allowed to talk now?" She asked and she noticed a faint smile appear on Cloud's face. She noticed how he looked a lot more handsome with a mile rather than that solemn expression he usually wore. Then she realised what she'd just thought and cringed inwardly.

"_For Leviathan__'__s sake…_"

"It's only valid until night," Cloud told her and Yuffie looked away from him.

"Oh…" She replied before glancing at him again, "I mean, thank Leviathan." Cloud frowned at her, obviously unconvinced by her words.

"Are you sure?" He enquired, "Just, you look a little distant."

"Of course I looked distant," She snapped, "I wasn't allowed to say anything." Cloud rolled his eyes upon seeing the 'usual' Yuffie's grand return.

"Just thought I'd make sure," He muttered, turning back to look at the fire. Yuffie glanced at him from the corner of her eye and couldn't stop the faint smile that crept onto her face. He was actually concerned about her.

"_Of course he is,"_ A voice in her head told her, "_He likes you." _Yuffie frowned slightly. Was that even possible? Could Mr 'I'm-so-serious' actually _like _her?

"_He's only looking out for you cause he's getting paid for it._" Another voice stated and Yuffie sighed inwardly. Of course…she'd be stupid to think it was anything otherwise. But why did she actually feel kinda disappointed?

"You done staring at me?" Cloud's voice cut through her thoughts, causing her to jump slightly.

"I wasn't staring," She dismissed hastily but Cloud cocked an eyebrow.

"You were," He insisted and she glared at him.

"I was not staring at you," She stressed, "Why would I be staring at you?" Cloud shrugged as he looked away from her.

"Why not?" Yuffie blinked at his answer.

"You've been hanging around with me too long," She commented and Cloud gave an amused laugh.

"Unfortunately," He added. Yuffie scowled before giving a little 'hmph' and turning away from him. There was a sudden cool breeze that caused the flames to flicker. Yuffie shuddered as the wind brushed her skin.

"You cold?" Cloud asked.

"No," Yuffie stated without looking at him. A short silence fell over them.

"Then why do you have goose bumps on your arms?" Cloud enquired. Yuffie glanced at him.

"Why were you looking at my arms?" She asked, causing Cloud to blink at her.

"I wasn't," He answered hastily.

"But you just said I had goose bumps on my arms," She reminded him, "You wouldn't have known that unless you'd been staring at my arms." Cloud said nothing for a few moments. He just met her gaze until she turned away.

"So why were you staring at them?" Another silence fell over them.

"Because you looked cold," Cloud stated.

"I'm not," Yuffie told him and he cocked an eyebrow.

"Then why do you have goose bumps on your arms?"

"Why were you staring at my arms?" Cloud groaned inwardly at the direction she was taking this conversation in.

"Just forget I asked," He told her before yet another silence fell over the both of them.

"Are you cold Cloud?" Yuffie asked and he frowned at her question.

"No," He answered and Yuffie nodded.

"Good," She replied, letting another silence surround them. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle wind and the crackling of the fire. Unexpectedly, Yuffie got to her feet and sat herself down next to Cloud. He glanced at her with a frown on his face as she started rubbing her hands together to warm herself up. He heard her teeth chattering quietly and rolled his eyes.

"Why didn't you just say you were cold?" He asked and Yuffie shrugged.

"You didn't ask," Cloud rolled his eyes yet again at her words.

"Do you always have to be so stubborn?" He muttered and Yuffie gave a little laugh.

"Believe me, you have no idea," She replied. Cloud said nothing in response and allowed the silence to once again surround them. After a few moments, he heard Yuffie yawn and he turned to look at her.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" He enquired and Yuffie shook her head.

"I'm not tired," She insisted but Cloud cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You know, there's a knack to lying that I think you should learn," He commented and she gave a small laugh before stretching her arms above her head. Much to Cloud's surprise, she leant her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He looked at her with his eyes wide and feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

"Cloud…" Yuffie said, her voice sleepy, "If I go to sleep, do you promise to look after me?"

"What do you mean?" He asked with a frown on his face. Yuffie flicked one of her eyes open and looked up at him.

"I'll be letting my guard down, so you'll need to defend me if anything shows up," She told him, "So, do you promise to look after me?" Cloud glanced down into her brown iris and opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"I guess so," He managed to say. A small smile played on her lips as she closed her eyes again.

"Hmm…that didn't sound too reassuring," She commented before shifting her head around slightly. Cloud didn't offer a reply but she seemed to expect this.

"Night Cloud," Cloud didn't say anything for a few moments.

"Night Yuffie…." She gave a humoured smile at his words.

Cloud sat there for what felt like hours. Yuffie finally dropped off to sleep with her head on his shoulder. He felt kinda awkward sitting here with Yuffie's breath softly playing on his neck. He looked away from the ninja brunette and back towards the fire. They'd reach their destination before tomorrow evening and he suddenly felt uncomfortable. Yet, there was a slight feeling of excitement hidden in there somewhere at the thought of seeing them again. It felt like a long time since they'd last been together.

_--_

_Bit of fluff lol  
Your thoughts are welcomed :)  
I'll update soon.  
_

_Just a random thanks to everyone who's still reading :)  
It means alot so thanks!_


	12. Chapter 12

_Heylo everybody :) sorry for the lateness of my update!  
No real excuse except that I've started playing Final Fantasy VIII again. God it's sooo good lol  
Anyway, thank you for all the positive feedback on the last chapter.  
Hope you enjoy this one...taaaa :)_

_A/N Just had to get rid of some typos._

**Chapter 12**

"Oww!" Yuffie was suddenly awoken by a sharp pain coming form the side of her head. Her eyes shot open to find the whole landscape appeared to be sideways. She was a little stunned to begin with but when she saw Cloud, the trademark scowl lined her face.

"What the heck did you do that for!" She exclaimed as she sat herself upright and rubbed the spot where the her head had hit the floor. Cloud gave a little laugh as he walked over to the remains of the fire.  
"Well, I wanted to be as far away from you as possible when I woke you," He explained, picking the bags up off the floor, "You know, seen as last time you almost knocked me out with a lampshade." Yuffie gave a smirk as she remembered the event a few nights previously. Yet it was soon replaced by the scowl again.

"Still, you didn't have to just let me drop to the floor," She stated, folding her arms as she did so. Cloud glanced over his shoulder at her.

"Well you're the one that fell asleep there," He reminded her and she felt her cheeks go slightly pink.

"Shut up," She snapped as she got to her feet. As she looked around, she noticed that the sun wasn't all the way up in the sky. It had to be pretty early in the morning, "What'd you wake me up at the butt-crack-of-dawn for?"

"Because I want to get out of here as soon as possible," Cloud answered before throwing her bag at her. Yuffie managed to catch it, but only just as it caused her to stumble slightly.

"But this early!" Yuffie protested and Cloud glanced at her.

"You wanna get kidnapped?" He asked and Yuffie puffed out her cheeks whilst folding her arms as much as the bag would allow her to.

"No…"

"Well, let's get a move on then," He instructed her and she mock saluted him.

"Yes sire," Cloud ignored her comment.

--

"Cloud…it feels like I've walked forever…." Yuffie moaned as she dragged her feet along the mountain path. Cloud, who'd had to put up with her complaining for the majority of the journey, had just learned to ignore her when she got in one of these moods.

"Seriously," She continued, "How far have we got left to go?" Cloud didn't reply for a few more moments.

"It won't take long now," He replied briefly and Yuffie rolled her eyes at him.

"That isn't helpful." She stated.

"Neither is complaining, but you know you just have to get on with things," Yuffie glared at him.

"Shut it chocobo head," She snapped, "I'm not really having much fun out here."

"Neither am I," Cloud muttered but Yuffie heard him. She glared at the back of his head as if wanting to burn a hole through it. They continued walking in silence, much to Cloud's relief.

"_I can't believe I even considered that I liked him,_" Yuffie thought to herself as she marched behind him, still seething, "_He's such a arrogant, stuck-up-his-own-ass jerk._" She glared at him as she walked.

"_Nice ass though…_" She paused suddenly; a look of horror spread across her face, "_Tell me I did not just think that!_" She watched him as he continued walking with her own face screwed up in a mixture of horror and disgust. Cloud must have noticed that Yuffie wasn't following him and turned around with a frown on his face.

"You alright?" He enquired and Yuffie blinked at him.

"I'm fine," She answered quickly…a little too quickly for suspicion to be lifted. Cloud's frown deepened and Yuffie cocked an eyebrow, "You know, it's amazing your face hasn't caved in as a result of all the frowning you do."

"Same could be said for you and your scowling," Cloud commented as they started walking.

"I only scowl when your around," Yuffie snapped back at him.

"And I only frown when you're around," Cloud replied, causing her to glance at him.

"Then we're quite a pair…huh?" Yuffie stated sarcastically.

"Indeed." Came Cloud's reply. Yuffie looked away from him and turned to look at the scenery instead. Cloud's assumptions must have been correct; she was sure she could see something in the distance. She hoped it was the town…she didn't know if she could be bothered to put up with him any longer.

"_You love it really…_" Yuffie blinked again. Where the heck was this part of her coming from with all these comments? She found herself watching Cloud as they walked and started wondering about his hair again. Did it naturally stick up like that?

"Good news," Cloud's voice broke her thoughts and she looked at him, "I can see the village from here." Yuffie wanted to point out that she'd seen it first but decided against it.

"How long will it take us to walk?" She enquired. The thought of a proper bed was calling to her…and who was she to deny it's calling?

"We should be there in an hour or so-" Cloud began but Yuffie had already set off. He blinked in surprise at her sudden eagerness.

"An hours too long," He heard her say as he ran to catch up with her, "I want bed now! I'm fed up with sleeping on the floor or on the shoulder of chocobo head."

"Thanks," Cloud commented and she smiled sweetly at him.

"No worries," She replied, "So what's the town called anyway?" Cloud didn't answer straight away.

"It's called Nibelheim," He explained to her and she nodded her head slowly.

"Nibelheim…" She mused aloud, "Never heard of it."

"Didn't think you would have," Cloud commented and Yuffie glanced at him.

"And why's that?" She challenged.

"Because Wutai doesn't really have much contact with the outside world," Cloud answered without looking at her. Yuffie looked at him a moment.

"I thought you were going to say something along the lines of 'you're too stupid to understand'," She told him and a smile tugged at the corner of Cloud's lips.

"Yeah, that too," He replied and Yuffie glared at him before elbowing his arm.

"Jerk," She said as she did so but Cloud just laughed.

--

Despite Yuffie's attempts to power walk, they reached Nibelheim about an hour later, as Cloud had predicted. She was a little surprised when she saw the town for the first time as she'd been expecting something a little more…impressive? The town was rather plain and boring in comparison the Wutai. The only thing that stood out for her was the strange fountain-like-thing that resembled a water pump. She studied the town for a moment and placed her hands on her hips.

"Is this it?" She asked, turning her head to look at Cloud. She was surprised to see Cloud had a nostalgic shine in his blue eyes.

"Yeah," He replied absentmindedly before he turned to look at her with his 'normal' expression, "This is where we're gonna lay low for a while." Yuffie nodded her head before looking back to the town again.

"Let me guess…." She began as she folded her arms, "You used to live here huh?" Cloud looked at her with in surprise.

"How'd you guess?" He asked and she smirked at him whilst tapping the side of her nose.

"I'm not stupid," She told him and he cocked an eyebrow. Yuffie mimicked his exact movements and spoke in unison with the blonde.

"You had me fooled." Cloud blinked at her and she gave a little laugh.

"You've grown predicable," She told him, seeing the expression he was giving her. She turned her attention back to Nibelheim, "Shall we go and meet this friend of yours then?" Cloud didn't say anything in response and it was Yuffie's turn to cock an eyebrow.

"What's up? You chicken?" She asked and she guess she must have hit a nerve, as Cloud scowled at her. His scowl quickly disappeared however.

"It's just…it's been along time," He told her. Yuffie waited for him to elaborate but he merely shook his head and began walking. Yuffie ran after him as he made his way past the water pump and towards one of the surprisingly few houses. They came to a halt outside the front door of one of the bigger looking ones and Cloud hesitated. Yuffie noticed Cloud's sudden reluctance and rolled her eyes. She knocked on the wood of the door before Cloud could even say anything. He glared at her.

"What did you do that for?" He asked and Yuffie shrugged at him.

"I didn't realise you wanted to stand outside in the cold all day," She replied and Cloud muttered something inaudible under his breath. Yuffie just smiled sweetly at him, knowing it would irritate him more. She heard the door handle turn and the door opened. It was a woman that had opened the door and the minute Yuffie laid eyes upon her, she felt mediocre all of a sudden. Here she was, all untidy and scruffy looking from the journey and stood in front of them was one of the most beautiful women Yuffie had ever seen. She had long, silky mahogany coloured hair and these rich, wine coloured eyes.

"_And possibly the biggest bust I've ever seen!_" She thought to herself in envy, "_No wonder why Cloud wasn't interested in you._" She visibly cringed at that thought but thankfully nobody saw her. The woman was too busy looking at Cloud, with an expression of amazement on her face.

"Cloud!" She exclaimed, before throwing her arms around him and hugging him. Cloud's cheeks instantly went pink. Yuffie's eyes narrowed into slits. The woman took a step back from him and laughed in happiness, "Wow, it's been ages since I last saw you!"

"Yeah…I know…" Cloud mumbled and the woman laughed. Yuffie didn't like the fact that she was being ignored, so she gave a loud cough to attract their attention. They both turned to look at her and Cloud stratched the back of his head.

"Um, this is Yuffie." He introduced the Wutaian ninja and the woman smiled warmly as she held out her hand to Yuffie.

"Hi, I'm Tifa," She introduced herself and Yuffie shook her hand unenthusiastically and gave a weak smile. Tifa continued to smile at her as she withdrew her hand, "Well, let's not hang around in the street all day, huh?" Yuffie gave a little, forced laugh but Tifa didn't seem to notice. She turned around and pushed the door aside to let them inside. Yuffie lingered as Cloud followed after Tifa. She shook her head and glared at the doorway for a moment before making her way inside also, closing the door behind her.

_I kinda had fun writing this one lol.  
Anyway, feedback is well cool...almost as much as Selphie is in FF8...hee hee I think she's awesome.  
Anyway, yeah back onto the subject lol.  
I'll be able to update sooner now that I've finished 6th form and am now freeloading until September.  
Hellsss yeah :)  
R&R? _


	13. Chapter 13

_H'okay, so I finally updated and I appologise for the delay but I was kinda hooked on this game I'm too embrassed to admit to!  
Anyhoo, thanks very much for the reviews and hits. Nice to know people are still reading :)  
Without any further ado..._

_--  
_

**Chapter 13**

Yuffie found herself following Cloud and Tifa through the hallway and into the living room. It was plainly decorated, consisting of a sofa, armchair, coffee table and various decorations that tried to make the room appear more interesting.

"_Tried…and failed_," Yuffie thought smugly to herself, thinking about her own cluttered yet interesting home back in Wutai. Cloud had sat himself down on the sofa, glancing at the room as he did so. Yuffie quickly jumped into the seat next to him before Tifa could choose her seat. Cloud frowned at Yuffie's strange behaviour as she straightened herself up and smiled to herself. Tifa glanced at the both of them. '_Ha' _Yuffie's expression read but Tifa appeared not to be at all bothered by it as she smiled at them both.

"Can I get you a drink?" She enquired and Yuffie's expression fell slightly. Maybe her action didn't give the impression she wanted. Cloud nodded his head and mumbled something under his breath and Tifa's attention turned to Yuffie.

"Well…uh…" Yuffie began, struggling to choose between her stubbornness and her actual need for some kind of beverage. But before she could decided the outcome of her internal battle, Tifa had smiled at her and nodded her head.

"I'll get you both something," She told them before turning away from them and making her way towards the kitchen. Yuffie, inwardly angry with herself for not letting her stubbornness conquer, sat with her arms folded and a scowl on her face. Cloud glanced at her and frowned slightly as he saw her expression.

"What's up with you?" He asked and Yuffie glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Nothing," She replied, with much more annoyance than she'd planned. Cloud cocked an eyebrow but it only served to irritate her more, "There's nothing wrong. I'm fine." Cloud was still looking unconvinced and as Yuffie looked at him, the anger appeared to fade away. She opened and closed her mouth her a few times, trying to find something to say.

"Cloud I…" She began but she stopped instantly as the other brunette made her way back into the room, carrying a tray full of drinks. Yuffie sighed inwardly in the annoyance of being interrupted and sunk further back into the sofa. Tifa smiled at her as she passed a mug over to her. Yuffie took it obediently but didn't try any. Tifa didn't seem to notice as she passed Cloud a drink before taking her own and sitting herself down in the vacant armchair. She took a sip from her cup before looking at them.

"So, what's this all about anyway?" She enquired, breaking the awkward silence that surrounded the living room. Yuffie looked at her but said nothing, "I mean, you never really said any details on the phone." Cloud looked up from his own mug at her.

"That's because I couldn't," He explained and Tifa turned her attention to him. Yuffie however sat with her untouched drink in her hand with her attention fixed on the floor.

"I've been hired by Yuffie's father to look after her," Cloud continued, ignoring the muffled snort from the Wutaian ninja, "We ran into a bit of trouble in Wutai and had to leave...and we kinda just needed a place to lay low for a while." He scratched the back of his head anxiously but Tifa just smiled at him.

"That's fine," Tifa reassured him, "You can stay here as long as you want to." Yuffie glanced at her before looking away again. As far as she was concerned, she'd rather get up bid the brunette farewell and quite happily never lay eyes upon her again. However, Cloud had other ideas it seemed.

"I really appreciate this Teef," Cloud told her and she smiled again. Yuffie nearly gagged at the use of a nickname but managed to pass it off as a cough quite nicely. A short silence fell over them again as they all, minus Yuffie, took a few sips of their drink. Tifa then turned to look at Yuffie.

"So," She began conversationally, causing the ninja to glance up at her, "You're from Wutai right?"

"No shit..." Yuffie's lips begged to reply but she managed to say a more civilised response.

"Yeah. Born and raised there, She replied and Tifa smiled again. Yuffie groaned inwardly; why did Tifa have to be so nice...it'd make it much easier to hate her if she wasn't. Yuffie paused in her thought - since when had she hated her? It was such a strong word.

"_Maybe not strong enough_..." She thought bitterly as she noticed Tifa smiling at Cloud again. As soon as the thoughts entered her mind she sighed. She needed to stop thinking like that. Tifa hadn't done anything wrong other than being born with such stunning beauty, a great personality and had the possession of the largest boobs known to mankind. It wasn't her fault she was born that way and Yuffie wasn't, but she felt the need to curse Leviathan under her breath anyway.

"I guess I should show you two your rooms, huh?" Tifa's voice snapped Yuffie out of her thoughts and brought her back into the conversation. Upon seeing Yuffie's blank expression, Tifa continued, "You can get yourself some sleep if you're feeling tired."

"What makes you think I am?" Yuffie blurted before she could stop herself. Both Cloud and Tifa glanced at her in surprise and she added hastily, "I mean, er...that'd be great thanks.." Tifa nodded her head politely as she got to her feet. Cloud followed suit, glancing at Yuffie as he walked past her. Yuffie met his gaze coolly before getting to her feet also.

"I've prepared two separate room for you," Tifa explained to them as they made their way up the stair case, "Although one of them is kinda small I've tried to make it as comfortable as possible for you." Yuffie was silently thankful that she wouldn't have to share a room with Cloud again. Although, one tiny part of her wanted to be cuddling up next to him but she hastily silenced that part of her brain before those kind of thoughts became a regular occurrence.

"It's fine Tifa," Cloud reassured the older brunette, "I just appreciate you letting us stay here...right Yuffie?" He glanced over his shoulder at the Wutaian ninja who seemed lost in her own thoughts. She gave a little 'hmm?' as he addressed her and, upon noticing his expression, nodded her head quickly.

"Yeah, thanks," She said as she did so and Tifa gave a little laugh before turning away to continued up the stairs. As soon as her back was turned Yuffie's expression darkened slightly.

"_Yeah, thanks for stealing my man..._" She thought but then inwardly groaned as she soon as the words entered her head. For starters, Cloud was not her man and she had no intention of making him into her man either. Secondly, she needed to stop holding grudges against someone who a) she'd only known for half an hour and b) who'd done absolutely nothing wrong yet somehow seemed to annoy her. She rolled her eyes to stop herself going down that track again and followed them both up the stairs. Tifa had stopped on the landing and indicated to on of the four doors.

"This is the first room," She explained to them, "It wasn't really designated for anyone in particular-"

"It's mine!" Yuffie exclaimed, her sudden reaction causing Tifa to blink in surprise. Cloud however, who was used to these random bursts of Yuffieness, hardly battered an eyelid. In fact, he was kinda glad to see Yuffie slowly returning back to her old self which he thought she'd left behind on the doorstep outside.

"Ok," Tifa replied, suppressing a giggle from the younger girl's outburst. She indicated to another room before glancing at Cloud, "This looks like your room then." Cloud nodded his head and Tifa pointed to another door.

"This is the bathroom," She explained before glancing at Yuffie, "You can take a shower later if you want to." Yuffie cocked an eyebrow, wondering why Tifa addressed her with this statement. Then Yuffie remembered; she'd been trekking up some stupid mountain for two days and she hadn't had a shower since she'd left Wutai. She suddenly felt a bit disgusting and looked away from the immaculate Tifa. Even though she was still reluctant to follow anyone's advice but her own, taking a shower seemed like a dam good idea right now.

"And finally, this is my room," Tifa ended the tour of the upstairs brightly. Yuffie couldn't help but cock her eyebrow again. Why did she need to know where Tifa's room was? It wasn't as if Yuffie was going to pay a visit to her in the middle if the night was it?

"_On second thoughts..._" Yuffie mused, "_Maybe I could go and pay her a visits if I take my __shuriken __with me-"_

"Thanks a lot Teef," Cloud thanked her again but she merely shrugged.

"It's the least I can do," She replied, "Don't worry about it."

"_Don't worry...I won't_," Yuffie thought.

--

After a rather awkward dinner, in which Yuffie had had to put up with annoying and pointless small talk, she decided to finally go and get a shower. She quickly exited the dinning room, leaving Tifa and Cloud to handle the cleaning and pot washing.

"Gives them time to catch up..." Yuffie had told herself as she wet her hair. She went about her business quickly, not wanting to leave Cloud and Tifa alone for too long. She switched the shower off once she had finished and grabbed one of the clean towels off the radiator. A comforting warmth surrounded her as she wrapped the towel around herself. She didn't realise how much she'd missed the simple home comforts, even after three days. Her comforts were short lived however, as the bathroom door opened right in her face.

"Cloud!" She exclaimed in an unusually high pitched voice and his cheeks went a deep shade of red. She clutched the towel closer to her in attempt to shield herself but the damage was already done really. It was just like the time he'd 'accidentally' - she still believed he was a pervert - walked in on her when she was changing in Wutai. Except when he'd done that he'd turned away instantly. This time he was staring at her...and at her figure. Yuffie felt her cheeks burning but she was unable to find one single comment to shoot at him before ushering him out of the room. Her mind went blank -why couldn't she think of anything to say? Cloud opened and closed his mouth several times; it seemed he was just as speechless as she was.

"I-I…" He began stuttering but his eyes appeared to be glued to her. Her figure was visible through the white towel wrapped around her and Cloud couldn't take his eyes off it. It was almost a surprise to him to see that Yuffie actually had curves. It was so hard to tell from beneath all the baggy clothing she always wore but she did posses a nice, slender body. Well, from what he could tell anyway.

"Stop undressing me with you're eyes and get out!" Yuffie finally managed to say whilst clutching onto the towel as if it was her life force. Cloud suddenly snapped out of his 'trance' and his cheeks went a deep scarlet in colour. He hastily disappeared around the door and slammed it shut. Yuffie stared, wide-eyed, at the spot where he'd been. She was breathing hard as she realised that it had only been a few seconds that had passed, yet, it had felt like minutes to her. She turned away from the door after a moment or two and shook her head.

"That's why you need a buy a lock for your bathroom door Tifa…" She murmured under her breath.

_--_

_Ha, they both have a bit of a pervy side...and Cloud has a knack for walkign in on her...that's if it is a knack.  
Anyways, reviews are muchly loved :)_

_xx_


	14. Chapter 14

_Hey, sorry for the delay. Been waiting for my laptop to arrive...I love it!  
As you might have noticed, I've changed my Pen Name...current obbsession is FFVIII :)  
Anyway, thanks for the reviews and updates. I'm loving writing this story._

_--_

**Chapter 14**

Yuffie paced around her temporary room for what felt like the thousandth time that morning. A few days had passed since her 'shower incident' but the memory of it still caused her cheeks to redden considerably. It was one of the most embarrassing, yet confusing, moments in her entire teenage life. The second possibly being the time she'd gotten herself stuck, whilst attempting to spy on a handsome tourist, and ended hanging upside down from the ceiling. It had been embarrassing because they'd caught her and confusing because she still wasn't sure how she'd ended up in that situation. She shook her head mentally, telling herself not to think about it because it was the only blotch on her 'perfect ninja' reputation. Her thoughts flittered back to the incident with Cloud. She was still trying to get over the fact that he had been staring at her. He, Cloud 'I'm-so-stuck-up-my-own-ass' Strife, had been staring at her, Yuffie 'Supposedly-annoying-but-he's-just-jealous-of-my-amazingness' Kisaragi. Yuffie found the concept confusing but not as confusing as the idea of throwing the towel off and jumping on him…the thought that had repeatedly sprung into her mind as they'd been stood there.

"_Ninja instinct,_" She told herself as she continued pacing, "_I wanted to jump on him and beat the crap out of him for staring at me. What else would it be?_"

"_Why am I even thinking about this so much anyway?_" She sighed and fell backwards onto her bed. She knew that the only reason it had crossed her mind so much was because she was so freakin' bored. There was absolutely nothing to do at all. Nibelheim should be crowned the world's 'most boring town' in Yuffie's opinion. Not only that but she didn't have anyone to talk to either. Cloud seemed to spend the majority of his time with Tifa, talking or doing whatever. It made Yuffie feel like some kind of intruder; like she was invading on their quality time together or something.

"_Talk about being a third wheel…" _She blew some of her hair out of her face in annoyance. It was partly her fault though; she wasn't even trying to be sociable. The reason being that she'd probably grow to like Tifa as a person and she didn't want that. She was determined not to like Tifa almost as much as she was determined that she was to be the world's greatest ninja. Thing was, there wasn't even anything to hate about the older brunette and that annoyed Yuffie more than Cloud's arrogance.

"Stupid woman…" Yuffie muttered as those thoughts crossed her mind. All of a sudden, there was a knock on her door, causing the ninja to jump and fall of her bed.

"Are you alright Yuffie?" The ninja cursed under her breath as the voice of Tifa reached her from the doorway. Why did she have to see Yuffie do something stupid like fall off her bed? Yuffie hastily scrambled to her feet and swept a strand of hair from her face, trying to look as composed as she possible could.

"I'm fine," She answered coolly as she smoothed out her shorts and looked at Tifa, "Why?"

"I was just wondering why you were on the floor," Tifa told her with a concerned expression. Yuffie's eyes narrowed slightly as she folded her arms.

"I was reading," She answered quickly and Tifa frowned slightly.

"Reading what?"

"A…magazine," Tifa didn't look convinced but thankfully she didn't press point, "What did you want anyway?" Tifa blinked at Yuffie for a moment; the previous conversation had thrown her slightly off track.

"Oh, I was wondering if you wanted to give me a hand cooking dinner?" Tifa asked. She gave a little laugh at the expression Yuffie gave her before continuing, "I just thought you might be bored, so I figured it'd give you something to do."

"Plus, it could be fun," Tifa added. Yuffie blinked.

"_Is she serious?" _Yuffie could think of a million and one things that would be more fun than a cooking session with Tifa, say going for a walk into the forest full of frogs without a ribbon equipped. Hell, she'd even take a date with Shu over a cooking session with Tifa. When she noticed the older woman's expression she groaned inwardly, "_Jeez…she is serious."_

"What do you say?" Tifa asked with a smile on her face, "You up for some girly time?"

"_Girly time…?_" Yuffie stared at Tifa with a blank expression, _"Leviathan help me…." _

"I guess…" Yuffie replied weakly and Tifa beamed at her.

"Ok, lets go."

--

When they reached the kitchen, Yuffie saw that Tifa had already set everything up so they could begin straight away. Tifa made her way over towards the sink before glancing over her shoulder at Yuffie.

"Ok, I'll get started on these carrots," She told her, "You can start peeling those potatoes." She indicated to one of the kitchen surfaces where several potatoes were sat waiting for Yuffie to sort them out. Yuffie stared at them.

"The peeler is in the top draw," Tifa informed her and Yuffie glanced at her before making her way towards the drawers. She opened the top one an stared at the utensils that were inside it. Yuffie's experience with utensils was kinda limited. She knew how to operate chop sticks, a knife, fork and a spoon but other than that she was pretty clueless. She glanced at Tifa from the corner of her eye and noticed that she'd already started peeling carrots. Yuffie took a look at the utensil that Tifa was using and glanced back at the raw. To her relief, she saw a similar looking one and grabbed it before closing the draw. She then made her way towards the potatoes with the peeler in her hand. She looked down at them and blinked.

"_Ok Yuffie…now what?" _Yuffie had never actually cooked before in her life. Although she didn't live with her father, she still had a servant that cooked all her meals for her, so Yuffie had never had to learn. Feeling slightly stupid, Yuffie picked up a potato in her free hand and attempted to peel it. It was way harder than she'd imagined it to be.

"_Dam potato…peel dam you!_" Yuffie thought through gritted teeth as she attacked it with the peeler. However, the peeler slipped and caught Yuffie's hand instead. Yuffie yelped and dropped the potato she'd been holding as she felt a sharp pain in her hand.

"What's wrong?" She heard Tifa ask, obviously alerted by the sound Yuffie had just made. Yuffie glanced at her whilst clutched her hand and she noticed Tifa's eyes scan to where the potato had fallen. To Yuffie's surprise, Tifa gave a soft laugh and walked over to her.

"I didn't know it was possible to cut yourself with a potato peeler," She joked but Yuffie didn't laugh. Tifa picked up the peeler and smiled at Yuffie, "Come here and I'll show you how to do it." Yuffie reluctantly stepped aside to allow Tifa access to the potatoes. She watched curiously as Tifa began to peel them with ease. It seemed very petty but Yuffie was jealous to see it was something Tifa could do and Yuffie couldn't. No matter what it was, Yuffie hated to be outdone in anything. After Tifa had finished, she turned to look at Yuffie with a smile on her face.

"Get it?" She asked pleasantly, "Or would you like me to show you again?"

"I'll be fine," Yuffie grumbled as she took the potato peeler from Tifa and tried again.

Yuffie hadn't realised cooking could be so difficult or so awkward. Half an hour into the cooking session and Yuffie had already managed to mess up pretty much everything she tried to do. Yet every time she did so, Tifa would just smile and sort it out for her before giving her some words of encouragement. This annoyed Yuffie more than being bested by vegetables. The only thing Yuffie was actually good at was mashing potatoes. It was relatively easy; she just had to imagine it was Tifa's face and _voila_, the potato was mashed. Once everything was prepared and cooking, Tifa turned to look at Yuffie with a grin on her face.

"Well, that's everything sorted," She informed the younger brunette, "Just leave the rest of it to me. It should be ready in about half an hour so you're free."

"Thank Leviathan…" Yuffie muttered while Tifa wasn't listening. She ran her fingers through her hair as she turned around to leave.

"Oh hey Yuffie," She heard Tifa call her and she turned around, "Good job." Yuffie managed a weak smile before making her way out of the kitchen.

--

She was called down for dinner about forty-five minutes later. Still annoyed about her cooking experience, she dragged her feet downstairs and ambled into the dining room. She felt her stomach knot slightly as she saw Cloud was already sat there. She'd managed to avoid him during previous dinnertimes but today she'd failed. He glanced at her before looking away; obviously he was still embarrassed about the dreaded 'shower incident' as much as she was. Without saying anything to him, Yuffie sat herself down at the table and pretended to be interested in her dinner mat. Luckily, Tifa entered the room a few moments later, carrying plates of food. She grinned at both of them as she placed their food down in front of them.

"What have we got today?" Cloud asked and Tifa smiled at him.

"Something me and Yuffie conjured earlier," She told him before winking at Yuffie. Yuffie returned a weak smile as she rubbed the back of her head. Cloud glanced at her also.

"Better not eat it then if Yuffie's cooked it," He stated and Yuffie scowled at him.

"Shut it chocobo head," She threatened, "It's gonna be the most delicious meal you've ever eaten…because I cooked it. Not that you deserve it." Cloud cocked an eyebrow at her before looking down at the food that had been placed in front of him.

"Good job I carry antidotes around with me then," He commented, causing Yuffie to glare at him.

"Hey, that's not nice Cloud," Tifa stated as she sat herself at the table with them, "Yuffie did a good job cooking this meal."

"Yeah Cloud," Yuffie said smugly before realising she'd just agreed with Tifa. Cloud picked up his fork and stabbed some of the food. He held it up and inspected it, before putting it in his mouth. He chewed it for a few moments before swallowing it and glancing at them both.

"Well?" Yuffie asked dryly and Cloud rolled his eyes at her.

"It's pretty good actually…" He muttered and Tifa grinned at Yuffie.

"See? We told you so," Tifa replied but Yuffie said nothing. She stabbed at her own food in silence and took a bite. It was pretty good…not that Yuffie actually did much apart from mess up the preparation.

"Good mash potato Yuffie," Tifa told her and Yuffie glanced up at her.

"_How ironic…._"

--

_Cooking lessons for Yuffie :)  
About the frog forest thing...I had a bad experience there since I didn't equipt a ribbon...I learnt the hard way.  
Anhyoo, reviews are much loved :)  
I'll update soon._


	15. Chapter 15

_Ok, I'm uber sorry for the late update...I've been kinda busy recently and haven't had the chance to write.  
But, anyways it's here now.  
Again, thanks for the reviews and hits on the last chapter :)_

--

**Chapter 15**

_Thud. _The blade embedded itself into the thick tree bark. _Thud. _That one landed a few inches above the other. _Thud. _And that one, just a few centimetres away from the first. Yuffie took another blade from the strap across her thigh and threw it at the tree, a few feet away from her. She didn't even look at where the blade had landed as she took out another one before hurling it forwards.

"_Direct hit to the face,"_ She thought to herself, imagining the tree to be Tifa, "_No wait, isn't that a little harsh? What's she ever done to you?"_

"Exist." Yuffie spoke through gritted teeth. She reached for another blade, only to find her strap was empty. Grumbling under her breath, she made her way towards the tree to retrieve the blades she'd already thrown. She took hold of one and tried to pull it free but it refused to budge. Cursing under her breath, she tugged at it with both hands but it still didn't move.

"Dammit…I guess I don't even know my own strength," She muttered as she did so before pausing for a moment, "Cool…I've always wanted to say that."

"Need a hand Yuffie?" Yuffie cursed under her breath again before turning her head to see Tifa walking over to her. She had that pleasant smile on her face as she approached.

"_Don't use that smile…I can't be mad with you if you're wearing that smile…_" Yuffie thought as Tifa stood next to her. Tifa's eyes fell onto the throwing blades embedded in the tree and she gave a little laugh.

"Didn't know your own strength, huh?" She commented and Yuffie smiled weakly. With that smile still on her face, Tifa put her hands on one of the blades and gave it a sharp tug. The blade easily slipped out of the bark and Tifa held it up for Yuffie. The ninja blinked in surprise before taking the weapon from her outstretched hand. Tifa pulled the rest of the out with ease before handing them back to Yuffie. Before passing her the last one, she studied it for a moment.

"Did you learn how to use these at Wutai?" She asked conversationally and Yuffie nodded.

"Yeah," She replied lazily as she looked away from Tifa, "I wasn't allowed to be trained in swordplay so I took up the shruiken instead." Tifa glanced at her from the corner of her eye.

"Why weren't you allowed to learn swordplay?" She enquired and Yuffie shrugged as she threw one of her blade up in the air before catching it again.

"I dunno," She answered as she did so, "My father said girls in royalty shouldn't be swinging a sword around because it was 'improper' or something." Tifa blinked at Yuffie's words.

"Royalty?" She repeated and Yuffie gave a little 'hmm' as she continued to throw the blade up and down in the air, "Really?"

"Yeah, I'm the princess of Wutai," Yuffie told her as if it was the most boring, uninteresting thing in the entire continent. Tifa slammed her hand in front of her mouth as her eyes widened again.

"I'm so sorry!" She blurted suddenly and Yuffie glanced at her with an alarmed expression, "If I'd have known that, I'd have made better arrangements for you."

"Oh, no it's alright," Yuffie replied but Tifa shook her head.

"No it's not," She stated, suddenly looking a little flustered.

"_Not so perfect now are we, eh?_" Part of Yuffie thought but she shook it away instantly.

"No seriously I'm fine," Yuffie reassured her, "I kinda hate it when people treat me differently from anyone else anyway." Tifa continued to look at her for a moment, as if trying to decide whether she was just being polite or not. Yuffie forced a smile onto her face to try and stop her from worrying. After a few more moments, Tifa returned a weak smile before looking back at the throwing blade she still held in her hand. As soon as Tifa's wine coloured eyes left her, the smile instantly dropped from Yuffie's face. She rubbed her jaw to try and relax the muscles that had been strained into making that smile believable. Jeez, she didn't realise it'd take that much effort to smile at her. Silence fell over the two of them; Tifa was still studying the weapon she was holding and Yuffie was absentmindedly gazing up at the cloud formations.

"I'll tell you something Yuffie," Tifa's voice broke her out of her gorming and she glanced at the older brunette to see she was smiling at her, "I'm jealous."

"Huh?" Yuffie blurted before she could stop herself. Did she just hear her right? Tifa was jealous of her? Tifa, who was perfect in practically every way - you know, stunningly beautiful, fantastic personality, well 'equipped' and a great cook - was jealous of Yuffie? It had to be the age right? Maybe Tifa just wished she was a couple of years younger…well, that was the only thing Yuffie could think of anyway. Tifa gave a little chuckle.

"Well, you're living out every girls dream," Tifa told her before giving another laugh at the bewildered expression portrayed on Yuffie's face, "Every girl dreams of being a princess. You know, living in a castle with all those really pretty dresses and of course, there's always a Prince Charming for every princess." Yuffie blinked; was Tifa being serious?

"Well…there's no castles," Yuffie told her as she looked away from the smiling brunette, "And, as you might have guessed, those dresses aren't really my thing…." Tifa gave a soft laugh.

"But there has to be a Prince Charming, right?" Tifa asked and Yuffie snorted.

"You haven't seen the guys back home," She stated, "Their all slime balls…I hate it. They always try to get on my good side just because of my title; I'd hardly call any of them my so called 'Prince Charming'." To Yuffie's surprise, Tifa continued to smile at her.

"Cloud's not like that," She stated and Yuffie made a slight gagging noise but managed to pass it off as a cough. Tifa gave another little laugh at Yuffie's reaction, "I'm sure he doesn't treat you any different because you're a princess."

"No, he just treats me like a kid," Yuffie spat, "And that's worse."

"I think he respects you more than you think he does," Tifa told her, as she started to make her way away from the tree. Yuffie watched her for a moment with slight curiosity. Tifa came to a halt in front of another tree; this one had beautiful pink and white flowers decorating it's branches. She looked up at it in admiration, "He's never been too good with the whole 'openness with feelings' thing." Yuffie frowned as she folded her arms but said nothing in response.

"So don't take anything he calls you seriously," Tifa continued, glancing over her shoulder to smile at Yuffie, "He just doesn't know how to deal with people in any other way."

"How long have you known Cloud for anyway?" Yuffie enquired and Tifa looked away from her.

"Since we were kids," Tifa answered, "We grew up together…well, kind of."

"What do you mean 'kind of'?" Yuffie asked as she cocked an eyebrow. Tifa said nothing for a few moments as she looked up at the trees decorated branches.

"I never really hung around with him," Tifa told her, "He was always a sort of loner by nature. My friend's all thought he was a little odd and wouldn't let him join in any of our games."

"Sounds a little like me," Yuffie commented and Tifa frowned at her, "But the kids back at home never let me play because I hated loosing and beat them all up when I lost anything." Tifa gave a little laugh at her words but it faded slightly.

"Yet, despite having a group of so called friends, it was Cloud who was there when I really needed someone," Tifa continued, "He looked after me and protected me when I was in danger. He saved my life." Yuffie said nothing for a moment.

"He cared about you, huh?" Yuffie commented and Tifa gave a small smile.

"I liked to think he did," She replied, "But whether he does or not, I don't know. As I said, he was never good with the whole openness." A short silence fell over the two of them, but Tifa broke it a few moments later.

"I've been a little worried about him lately," She said but Yuffie wasn't sure if she should be replying or not, "This whole 'mercenary' business means he's on the road for long periods of time and he never answers his phone."

"_I've noticed,_" Yuffie thought, thinking of all the times his phone had woken her from her sleep and Cloud hadn't even bothered to stop it ringing. Tifa glanced at Yuffie and gave another smile.

"But it seems like this 'assignment' with you has done him some good," She commented, causing Yuffie to frown, "I've never seen him sleep so much." A faint smile lined Yuffie's face.

"Yeah…I like to give him a hard time," She replied, "I can be quite a handful when I want to be."

"Well, at least he's actually getting some kind of rest," Tifa stated with a laugh, "It's nice to see him look reasonably healthy for once." Yuffie gave a weak smile before allowing another silence to fall over them. Tifa turned back to looking at the pretty flowers in the surrounding garden and Yuffie watched her from the corner of her eye. She was finding it hard to ignore a certain question that had been burning in the back of her mind ever since this conversation began.

"_Heck, it's been bugging me ever since I first arrived here," _She thought as Tifa started humming a nameless tune to herself, "_I can't stand living in the dark any longer, it's so not my style._" She contemplated a few ways of extracting the information from the older woman. She could casually drop it into conversation after offering Tifa a few alcoholic beverages.

"_Problem one - where am I gonna get alcoholic beverages?"_ She thought as she went through the plan in her mind, "_Problem two - I have no money with me. Problem three - Am I even old enough to buy them legally?"_ After coming up with some mad scheme, involving sneaking into one of the shops, knocking out the shop keeper and returning with several bottles stashed under her top, she decided that it wouldn't be a practical idea. She then contemplated gagging Tifa up and threatening to use her as her next target practise if she didn't tell her. This plan quickly fell flat on it's face too, as Yuffie could imagine Cloud getting really _really _pissed off with her and then coming after her with his big ass sword before saving Tifa. And that wouldn't do at all. Yuffie sighed inwardly before deciding to take the blunt, straight forward method.

"Tifa," She began, attracting the brunettes attention, "Do you like Cloud?" Tifa abruptly spun around to look at Yuffie with a frown on her face.

"What makes you think that?" Tifa asked and Yuffie shrugged innocently.

"I dunno, I was just curious," She replied, "I mean, the two of you have been friends since childhood and he saved your life, right? It's highly possible that you could have a little crush on him." Tifa looked at Yuffie for a moment, before blushing slightly and looking away.

"I don't know where you got that idea from Yuffie," She replied.

"_From the way you behave when he's around, perhaps?" _Yuffie thought, scowling slightly, "_And that little blush isn't a big give away, is it?"_

"But I can assure you," Tifa continued, completely obvious to Yuffie's thought process, "Cloud and I, we're just friend's." Yuffie looked at her, utterly unconvinced. Obviously Tifa wasn't as practised at lying as Yuffie was.

"So you don't like him, huh?" Yuffie asked again, feeling that she'd admit it I she thought about it enough. However, Tifa shook her head in response and Yuffie sighed inwardly out of annoyance.

"Not even his weird eyes or stupid hair?" Yuffie continued but Tifa just shook her head again, with a smile on her face, "What about his little smirk when he beats you at something? Or the way he rolls his eyes when he's annoyed? His confidence when he walks? The smugness when he's right? The way he's always quick to chance the subject when he's wrong?" But Tifa still shook her head, yet her smile had grown somewhat.

"No, I don't have a crush on him," She told the younger girl, "But do you like him Yuffie?"

"What!" Yuffie blurted as she felt her cheeks redden somewhat, causing Tifa to giggle, "Why would I like chocobo head?! He's a 'stuck-up-his-own-ass' jerk that thinks he's the greatest person on this god dam planet! He's so arrogant that it makes me sick!" Yet all Tifa did was chuckle at Yuffie's words, making the ninja more flustered. She quickly replaced it with irritation; how dare she reverse the question just to get out of admitting she liked Cloud. It was ridiculous to think Yuffie did. Seeing that Yuffie was getting annoyed with the way the conversation was going, Tifa swiftly decided to end it there.

"I'm going to prepare some food," She informed the now seething brunette. Yuffie said nothing but Tifa expected this response, or lack of. She looked at the throwing blade she still held in her hand and then glanced at the tree Yuffie had been aiming them at. In one swift movement, she hurled the blade thought the air and it embedded itself in the tree with a '_thud_''. Yuffie blinked; how could Tifa get that amount of accuracy on her first try? With a slight smile on her face, Tifa turned away from Yuffie and made her way back inside the house. Yuffie watched her go, silently fuming.

--

_Just lettig you know that Cloud is around here somewhere :)  
Anyways, reviews and things are cool.  
I'll update sooner :)_


	16. Chapter 16

_H'okay update.  
I ckeep delaying these and I'm sorry...just I've started playing Dynasty Warriors again :)  
Anyhoo, thanks for the reviews last chapter. Enjoy :)_

**Chapter 16**

Feeling somewhat disgruntled and annoyed over her recent conversation with Tifa, Yuffie had decided to make her way out of the garden and to somewhere a bit more remote to 'cool down'. She trudged along the pathway leading away from Tifa's house, cursing and grumbling as she walked. How dare Tifa suggest that she had a 'thing' for Cloud. Yuffie hadn't ever heard such a stupid idea since Shu offered to train with her.

"Everybody notices those things about Chocobo head," She thought aloud, causing a few passers by to frown at her, "Everyone knows what he does when he's annoyed…it's standard observation." Yuffie then wondered if staring at Cloud's ass counted as 'standard observation'…well, it was there for everyone to look at right? Yuffie made a strange 'blahh' sound as she realised what she'd just been thinking about, causing a few more passers by to look at her in alarm. Since she was used to ignoring the stares of onlookers from her many years experience of tantrum throwing, she paid no attention to them as she made her way over to the water pump-like statue in the centre of the town. She studied it for a moment before clambering up with ease. With a sigh, she dropped herself down onto the platform and ran her fingers through her dark hair.

"What the hell is wrong with me…" She muttered aloud. Why was she suddenly getting these strange feelings and thoughts every time Cloud crossed her mind. It all started off with that stupid training session on that hillside, which had resulted in Yuffie trying to kiss him. Well, sort of kissing him but not realising what the hell was going on. Then there was the seemingly random jealousy towards a certain brunette and that uncertainty when it came to Cloud and Tifa's relationship. Then Yuffie thought about the dreaded shower incident and those thoughts that had repeatedly sprung to mind involving throwing the towel off and jumping on him. She hadn't even been bothered by the fact that she'd only been wearing a tiny towel when usually she'd had gone on some kind of rampage. She shook her head and leaned backwards to look up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set and traces of stars were beginning to appear. It was just like that night, before they'd arrived in Nibelheim. Admittedly they had been arguing like usual but Cloud had actually allowed Yuffie to fall asleep on her shoulder. Although, she hadn't really given him much say otherwise but Yuffie ignored that part.

"_It had been kinda cute though," _She thought to herself as she glanced down from the sky with a smile spread across her face. All of a sudden she frowned slightly; was Cloud really making her smile? Was she possibly smiling at the thought of the stupid spiky haired blonde? Realisation hit and she figured she couldn't deny it any longer.

"Maybe Tifa was right…." She reflected aloud, despite not really wanting to admit it, "Maybe I do like-" Before those words could form, she slapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself.

"_No, don't give up the fight now Yuffie," _Part of her brain told her, "_Be strong. Stay strong and we shall never falter." _Yuffie moved her hand away and frowned slightly; since when did her brain sound like such a retard? Yet, that stubborn side of her refused to let go of that denial. With a sigh she buried her face in her hands and sat still for a few moments. This was all so stupid and pointless; why should she bother herself about this stupid matter any longer. She slowly clambered back onto her feet before jumping down from the water pump.

Yuffie made her way back to Tifa's house, still cooped up in her own thoughts about a certain person. As she reached the familiar path, leading up to Tifa's doorway, she froze and dived for cover behind the nearest wall. Cloud was sat down on the doorstep, obviously too lost deep in his own thought to have noticed her. Yuffie peered out from behind the wall to get a better look at the surrounding area. She needed to get back inside the house but didn't want to face him in this lax state of mind; she'd been thinking too much and it'd had lowered her so called 'mental barriers'. One of the most important rules of her ninja training - make your mind a fortress. She retreated back behind the wall and screwed up her face in annoyance. She'd failed that one already. There was only one other way to go about this and Yuffie rubbed her hands together.

Cloud sat in silence, concentrating on the thoughts that crossed his mind. Suddenly, he thought he heard a scraping sound and frowned slightly. It was only when he caught sight of something from the corner of his eye did he smile slightly.

"Hey Yuffie," There was a 'yelp' followed by loud thud. Cloud glanced over his shoulder to see Yuffie in a heap on the floor. Cloud gave a little laugh, "Loosing your touch?"

"I'm a little out of practise…" She grumbled as she clambered to her feet. Cloud continued to look at her, but she looked away from him, "Whatcha doing on the doorstep anyway? Apart from blocking general access?" Cloud turned away from her and looked back at the town again.

"Just thinking," He told her and Yuffie cocked an eyebrow.

"What about?" She enquired but Cloud didn't answer causing her to pout slightly, "Fine, be like that."

"What have you been doing anyway?" Cloud asked, ignoring Yuffie's statement. She folded her arms and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Just thinking," Cloud rolled his eyes at her statement; why did she have to be so childlike sometimes? When Cloud didn't offer another reaction to her words, Yuffie sat down on the step next to him.

"Aww don't get so sad Cloud," She allowed a big grin onto her face before she grabbed hold of both his cheeks and pulled them, "Smile!" Cloud scowled at her so she pulled his cheeks harder, "Smile dam you." Sighing slightly, Cloud gave her a half hearted smile but Yuffie still didn't look impressed. Cloud's cheeks were beginning to hurt from under her vice like grip, so he grabbed hold of her arms.

"Yuffie…" He tried to say but it just came out as a muffled noise, "Let go…" He managed to pull her arms away but unexpectedly Yuffie jerked forwards with a yelp. Cloud froze as he found Yuffie's face dangerously close to his. Yuffie's eyes were wide; she appeared as surprised by their predicament as much as he was. Cloud opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't seem to find the right words. Yuffie's heart was pounding against her chest; she was surprised that Cloud couldn't hear it. She looked into his mako blue eyes and her mind appeared to go blank.

"_Think Yuffie, think…"_ But her brain didn't seem to want to function; her heart seemed to take over Yuffie's thought process, "_Please just turn away Cloud…."_ She silently willed him to do so but he didn't move. Then, before Yuffie could even register what was happening, her eyes slid shut and she leaned forwards. Part of her expected it to end like last time, with Cloud moving away and her lips being greeted by nothing. However, she could feel his soft breath as she drew closer to him and her lips pressed against his own.

"_Dear Leviathan…"_

_--_

_Reviews are awesome :)_

_Thanks_


	17. Chapter 17

_Hmm cliffhanger? I'm not that mean to leave you all waiting for too long :)  
As tradition, thank you for the awesome reviews :)_

_Maybe I should remind myself that I don't own any of these characters...not yet anyway._

**Chapter 17**

And then Yuffie's mind went blank. Even though she hadn't had any previous experience when it came to kissing, her lips seemed to move of their own accord. They didn't move for the first few moments as she concentrated on what Cloud was doing. She then tried kissing him back and smiled inwardly as she got the hang of it. Her mind started racing; this was amazing.

"_I could get used to this, nyuk_," She thought to herself as she eagerly returned the kiss. She was so caught up in the moment that she didn't notice the hesitation Cloud was suddenly displaying. Yuffie was in wonder at why she'd never thought to try this earlier; it was doing things to her that she'd never experienced before and she was keen to keep this going as long as possible. Therefore, it came as a shock to her when Cloud abruptly broke away from her and turned his face away to prevent her trying for a second time.

"I'm sorry…" He said quietly, causing her to frown; she was a little hurt by the sudden ending.

"Cloud…?"

"I'm sorry but I can't," Cloud buried his face in his hands for a moment before looking in the opposite direction, "Not with you." Yuffie stared at the side of his head with a hurt expression on her face. Cloud could feel her eyes upon him and he sighed, "Yuffie I-"

"No, I get it," Yuffie interrupted, her voice rising as she tried to register what Cloud had just told her, "I mean, why would anyone want to kiss me? I'm just a stuck up, selfish, arrogant brat to you, that's it isn't it?"

"Yuffie, that's not what I-"

"Wanted to happen?" Yuffie finished for him as her eyes flared up in a mixture of anger and pain, "Well, I'm sorry that I'm not stunningly beautiful and that I don't have a massive chest, or possess a personality to die for. Sorry that I'm a scrawny, flat-chested, spoilt _child_!"

"Yuffie I don't-"

"What? You don't wanna hurt my feelings?" Her expression turned suddenly sour, "Wait, why would you even care about my feelings? All you care about is getting this job done, getting your money and getting the hell out of here. It doesn't matter to you if you hurt a few people in the process as long as you can get this finished, right?" Cloud looked at her for a few moments with a frown on his face.

"Yuffie, I have no intention of hurting you," He began but Yuffie turned away from him as she jumped to her feet.

"Yeah? Well I've got news for you Spikes," She stated as she took a few steps away from him before pausing, "You really cocked that up. So congrats on a job well done. I'm sure my father will hand over your pay check with pride, since you both seem to want to exploit my insecurities so badly." Cloud looked at her with a surprised expression and Yuffie glared at him from over her shoulder.

"Yeah, that's right chocobo head, I may act it but I'm not invincible," She continued, feeling her body shaking as the words left her mouth, "I get hurt too." Cloud said nothing in response. Yuffie had been expecting this and shook her head as she began to make her way forwards.

"Yuffie…where are you going?"

"I need to get away from you," Yuffie stated, "I've had enough of being surrounded by pathetic, egotistic little boys who need to grow up." She paused for a moment as a scowl lined her face.

"Oh, and why you're at it, why don't you grow a pair," She told him, "I'm sure Tifa will be expecting you to use them any time soon." She felt the slightest regret of having to bring Tifa's name into this but she had no intention of being the only wounded one leaving here. Mentally or physically, she didn't really care right now. She wasn't going down without a bit of a fight at least. Cloud said nothing; he didn't even try to stop her. Yuffie hoped to have succeeded in wounding his pride, even if it was only a little. Without looking at him, she continued down the path until he was far out of sight.

--

Yuffie didn't have the faintest idea where she was when she finally stopped walking. She glanced at the town behind her; she was at least a good twenty minutes from it's entrance. She dropped to the ground and ran her fingers through her hair. She had forced herself not to think about what had just happened as she'd walked here but now, there was nothing to distract her from it. She'd kissed Cloud…and regrettably she'd enjoyed it but obviously Cloud didn't feel the same way about her. Her blood seemed to boil at the thought of the spiky haired blonde and what he'd said to her earlier. How could she have been stupid enough to think that she genuinely liked him and visa versa? And how could she have been that stupid to admit her weakness in front of him? She hit the ground with her fist in frustration; dammit, why was she so angry?

"_Well you did let your defences slide when you kissed him," _Part of her mind told her, "_Plus that slime said some pretty nasty things to you._"  
"_Actually Cloud didn't say anything,_" Another part replied, "_You sorta interrupted him and assumed that that was what he was going to say._"

"_But you're always right, remember?_" The other part stated, "_That jerk didn't want you because he didn't think you were good enough for him. That's why you're angry…though you should be too bothered about him anyway."_

"_Don't be stupid; you have genuine feelings for Cloud, even if he doesn't appear to return them. It's not your fault,_" Yuffie buried her head in her hands before sighing inwardly. She knew she was only angry because she didn't want to admit that she was actually heartbroken by Cloud's reaction to her kiss. She was doing what she always did - hiding behind a seemingly stronger Yuffie so she didn't have to show her weaker, more emotional side. It had become a habit for her ever since her mother had died. It had hurt her to see that her father seemingly didn't care about her but she couldn't show that; she had to be tough.

"But this hurts…" Yuffie thought aloud. She thought she was used to pain. After all, she'd endured years worth of training, sported several bruises, dealt with many cuts and gashes and tolerated broken bones without batting an eyelid. But this…this was different and it hurt more than any of those put together. This hurt her pride, her ego and her confidence; something which bandages or plasters couldn't fix. She felt tears prickle in the corners of her eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. Suddenly, she shook her head, feeling mad with herself for getting into this mess. She'd failed the important ninja training rule number two - don't let your guard down. More importantly, she needed to carry out Yuffie rule number one - anyone who dares to mess with the World's Greatest Ninja must face a fate worse than death.

"_I am not moping around…I'm not giving him the satisfaction of hurting me. However, I am going to get my revenge…and I'm not settling for halfway._" Yuffie jumped to her feet and allowed a sly smile to creep onto her face, "_That's right…I'm going to hurt him real bad-_" Suddenly, she felt someone roughly grab hold of her but they pressed a hand against her mouth before she could yelp.

"Well well, look who I've found," An unfamiliar voice spoke in her ear, "We've been looking for you Miss Kisaragi." Yuffie's eyes widened at his words and she began to struggle against his grip, trying to break free but his hold was too strong. He gave a cold laugh, mocking her seemingly feeble attempts at freedom.

"Are you gonna come quietly or are we gonna have to do this the hard way?" He sneered. Yuffie said something in reply, but just sounded like a muffled jumble of words. Suddenly, she kicked her attacker in between his legs, causing him to cry out as he let go of her. Not daring to turn around, Yuffie ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She barely had time to move a few feet away before another guy stepped out in behind her. He swung his arm sideways, catching the side of Yuffie's head. The last thing Yuffie could remember was crashing to the ground, face first, before her entire world slipped into darkness.

_--_

_Sorry about Yuffie's random spout of emoness lol.  
Anyways, there's a button down there called 'reviews'. It's a good button to press :)_

_Love you all muchly._


	18. Chapter 18

_Ok, so I'm appologising for another delay in updating. I don't really have an excuse and I'm sorry, :  
Once again, thanks for the awesome reviews and the hits and things!  
_

_--_

**Chapter 18**

Cloud pushed the door open and made his way inside the house. His mind was racing as he tried to think through the events that had happened minutes ago. He' never seen Yuffie like that before and he was still hurt by some of the things she said about him. He sat himself down in one of the armchairs and ran his fingers through his fine blonde hair. He had a nagging feeling that he should have gone after Yuffie, but then again, he valued his life and figured she needed some time alone. Maybe he should have checked where she was going….

"Hey Cloud," Tifa's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He glanced upwards to see her stood in the doorway with a concerned expression written across her face, "I thought I heard you talking to Yuffie outside." Cloud's stomach tightened; had Tifa seen what had happened between them? He decided to say nothing in response, but seemingly, Tifa expected this.

"Where she's disappeared to?" Cloud looked away from her. It sounded like she hadn't heard the majority of the conversation.

"I…I don't know," Cloud's answer caused Tifa to frown.

"What do you mean?" She enquired as she sat herself down on the edge of the armchair, "What happened Cloud?" Cloud looked at her for a moment or two, wondering if he should tell her everything. Tifa had always been a good and understanding friend, even after the events involving a certain brunette. He rubbed the back of his head nervously before reassuring himself that he could trust Tifa with anything.

Tifa said nothing once Cloud was finished with his story. She was studying him carefully with her rich, wine coloured eyes, making Cloud feel even worse. It had been hard for him to recount the events to Tifa, but even harder as he realised just how much he'd hurt Yuffie. However, to his surprise, a faint smile lined Tifa's face.

"What are we going to do with you Cloud?" She sighed and he blinked at her, "You're still sat here while Yuffie's out there somewhere, probably stirring up some kind of trouble." Cloud said nothing and Tifa shook her head.

"Why didn't you go after her?" Tifa asked an Cloud messed up the hair on the back of his head.

"I didn't want to be used as her human target practise…." He mumbled and Tifa rolled her eyes.

"Cloud, I think Yuffie really likes you," Tifa told him, "She noticed things about you that I didn't even know after how many years of knowing you. Do you really think she'd try to kill you?"

"I wouldn't put it past her," Cloud mumbled and Tifa glared at him, causing him to recoil slightly. He didn't like seeing Tifa look at him like that; it scared him.

"Personally, I think you're making a mistake Cloud," She stated, "I know how Yuffie feels because you did exactly the same thing to me - you're refusing to let Aeris go."

"You need to stop living in the past Cloud," Tifa continued, her voice getting louder, "You need to realise what you've got now. Yuffie likes you Cloud; can you honestly say you don't like her?" Cloud still said nothing. This time, a genuine smile lined Tifa's face.

"Why are you still here Cloud?" She asked and he looked up at her, "Go and find Yuffie."

--

Yuffie stirred. She was a greeted by a damp, musty smell, causing her to wrinkle her nose in contempt. She groaned as a dull pain began to throb in the side of her head and absentmindedly reached up to touch it. She opened her eyes; the room appeared blurry, so Yuffie squinted to try and adjust to the darkness that surrounded her. Her fingers brushed something warm on the top of her head, so she brought her hand to her face to inspect it. She was slightly disgusted to see that it was her own blood that coated her fingers. Moving her hand from her face, and ignoring that throbbing pain, she took a better look at her surroundings. Her eyes had managed to adjust to the darkness surrounding her just enough to make the faint outline of a cell.

"_A cell?_" She thought groggily as she straightened up and ran her other hand through her hair, "_What am I doing here?_" Suddenly, the memory came back to her; she'd walked straight into their ambush. She cursed herself for being so stupid but then frowned, wondering how they'd managed to find her. Her thoughts were distracted as the door opened; light drifted into the room from the corridor. A silhouetted figure stood in the doorway before they flicked on the lights. Yuffie recoiled, squinting as the sudden light hurt her eyes.

"Good evening Ms. Kisaragi," A voice greeted her, but she was still busy trying to adjust to the rooms brightness to notice who spoke, "I've been waiting to see you for a long time." Yuffie, who still felt a little dazed, failed to reply. She hear faint footsteps and someone stood over her. He was wearing a smart black suit with a white tie; his blue eyes shone coldly from underneath his midnight black hair. She thought he would have been quite handsome…if it wasn't for the situation she was in.

"All this time spent in hiding and you just waltz straight into my men," He continued before smirking slightly, "And I thought you were supposedly a 'great ninja'…."

"Who are you?" Yuffie managed to say, though her throat felt strangely dry. He looked at her for a moment or two.

"My names Sephian," He introduced himself but the name didn't register with Yuffie.

"What the hell do you want with me…?" Sephian gave a little laugh at her words.

"You're our little 'persuasion' technique," He told her and she frowned, "You see, you're father owes us a lot of money and adamant about paying it back. We're trying to convince him otherwise."

"Money…?" Yuffie repeated in confusion, "My father doesn't owe anyone anything." Sephian considered her for a moment, before a cruel smile lined his face.

"He didn't tell you?" He asked but Yuffie just looked at him, causing him to smirk again, "How funny; his little ninja is suffering for something she's completely oblivious to." Sephian crouched down so he was at Yuffie's height level and took hold of her face, forcing her to look at him.

"I'll make it simple for you," He continued, "We're keeping you here until we get back the amount we're owed and we're going to use you to do just that."

"We're going to send a video to your father, showing you pleading for your life. Once he sees his precious little daughter broken, he'll send it over instantly," He smiled coldly at her and brought her face closer to his, "So be a good girl and beg for me." Yuffie's eyes were wide with fear, but she quickly covered it up. She scowled before spitting at him. No one was going to break her. Sephian let go of her and wiped his face with the back of his hand. He looked at her for a moment. Without warning, he stuck her around the face. She stumbled backwards and Sephian straightened up.

"Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way," He stated, before glancing to one of the guards and nodding his head. Yuffie straightened up just in time to see him walking over to her, before his fist collided with her jaw. Yuffie was forced backwards from the sheer strength behind the blow.

"Let me know when you're ready to cooperate, Ms. Kisaragi," She heard Sephian's voice but was unable to even register what he said as the guard kicked her in the stomach. She cried out in pain as he hit her again and again in the stomach or around the face. After what felt like forever, he stepped away from her and exited the cell, leaving her bruised and bleeding. The light went out and Yuffie lay on the ground, one hand clutching her stomach and the other on her broken ribs. Her breathing was heavy but it hurt every time her chest rose and fell. Tears sprung to her eyes; she couldn't ever remember being in this much pain before. She felt like she'd been hit by a truck, then been reversed over, only to be hit again. She closed her eyes to tried and block out the pain but her thoughts flittered onto a certain person. Despite everything, she felt herself longing to hear their voice again and to rescue her from this horrible place. She felt a tear trickle down her cheek.

"_Cloud…where are you?_"

--

_And on that note, I won't be able to update for a little while because I'm going away on holiday - woop!  
However, I'll continue writing this while I'm away, so I'll post it up asap. Maybe I can hack someone's unprotected wireless interenet...just kidding.  
And since it's my birthday during the time I'm away (I will be legally able to learn drive...hells yeah!), be nice and leave a review for me to read when I get back. It would be cool  
Love you all!_


	19. Chapter 19

_Heyloo  
I managed to find a WiFi on the campsite...but I'm being made to pay a 'donation'...but I figured I'd upate it, even though this one is a little short.  
Thanks for the reviews and hits last time _

_--_

**Chapter 19**

As Cloud reached the outskirts of Nibelheim he felt his stomach knot in panic. He'd searched the whole town, asking people if they'd seen anyone that looked like Yuffie but to no avail. He decided to search around the area outside the town but there was still no sign of her. He ran his fingers through his hair in worry; surely this couldn't be some kind of joke she was playing on him. Then again, it could have been pay back for what he did to her. He slumped down onto a nearby rock and buried his face in his hands for a few moments. This was all his fault; he was supposed to be keeping an eye on her and he just let her get up and walk away. He was stupid enough to just let her go. He clenched his fists in frustration.

"Dammit Yuffie!" Cloud got to his feet again but then something caught his eye. Feeling slightly curious, he walked over to it and crouched down. As he wiped away some of the dust, he could see that it resembled one of Yuffie's throwing blades and picked it up. He studied it for a moment or two before deciding it was definitely one of hers; he recognised the design from the time she'd been target practising in the cave. He then frowned, knowing that she'd never purposely leave one of them behind and glanced at the scene around him. It was then that he noticed them. Bike tracks imprinted on the earthy ground. With Yuffie's blade still clutched in his hand, he ran over to investigate them. They looked pretty fresh to him; couldn't have been more than a few hours ago. His stomach knotted again; those guys must have gotten her. How could he have been so stupid! He was so caught up in his and Yuffie's predicament that he'd completely forgotten about those guys trying to kidnap her. And now Yuffie, and most probably her life, were in danger and it was his fault for letting her wander off like that. Cursing loudly, he jumped to his feet and saw that the tracks led off into the forest. He faltered for a minute and glanced behind him at the town. Should he go back and get some kind of vehicle from Nibelheim? He then shook his head; he couldn't risk Yuffie's life any longer. He turned away from the village and began to follow the tracks through the forest.

"_Yuffie…please just hang in there_."

--

Yuffie had lost track of all sense of time. She had no idea how long she'd been in here for or whether it was night or day. Her body ached all over from bruises and broken bones. Despite her injuries, she still refused to participate in whatever schemes Sephian had in mind. She had no idea what her father had done but she would not let her country down. She was, and always will be, a fighter till the end and she refused to give in, even though she found herself being tested. They were beating her more ruthlessly every time and, despite herself, she wasn't sure how long she could keep this up. She was bruised and bleeding but she had still held onto that small, tiny hope that Cloud would save her. She thought that he would be her only hope, but after the beatings had gotten more severe, she had begun to realise that he wasn't coming.

"_And it serves you right,_" A voice had told her one night as she lay, clutching her chest, "_If you hadn't been so childish and selfish, you wouldn't have even been in this mess._" Tears sprung to the ninja's eyes as she realised that the voice had been right. If only she hadn't have stormed out of Nibelheim so carelessly then she wouldn't even be here. All this time Cloud had warned her about being careful…all those measures they'd taken to ensure that she was safe had all been in vain. It had been her own stupidity that had gotten her caught.

"_If only I'd listened to Cloud…._" She found her thoughts were interrupted as the cell door slid open. Yuffie heard footsteps echoing around the cell walls and she flicked an eye open. Even though the cell was dark, she could faintly make out a figure. As they got closer, she saw one of her captors approach her, carrying a tray in his hands. He placed it on the floor in front of her.

"Eat," He ordered but Yuffie made no attempt to move. He kicked the tray closer to her, "I said eat."

"I'm not hungry," Yuffie spat. Although every fibre in her body was yearning for the food, Yuffie would not give in to them.

"You haven't eaten in several days," He sneered at her but she said nothing. He kicked the tray, more aggressively this time, "Eat it now." Yuffie averted her gaze away from him.

"I'm not touching anything from you." No sooner had the words left her mouth, the man kicked the tray so the contents fell onto Yuffie. He then crouched down and grabbed hold of her wrists.

"Maybe I should teach you some manners," He snarled before a cruel smile lined his face, "Or maybe I can just have some fun with you instead." He grabbed hold of her face and her eyes widened in fear; his grip on her cheeks was hurting her, "It'd be a shame to hurt such a pretty face." Without warning, he forced her backwards into the wall. Yuffie struggled, trying to force him off of her but he was too strong. She attempted to kick him but he just laughed at her.

"A little feisty are we?" He commented before slamming her against the wall again. Yuffie cried out in pain; tears fell down her cheeks from the agony caused by her injuries, but also from fear. The man gave another cruel laugh before stroking her cheek.

"Don't worry; it'll be over soon," Yuffie tried to struggle but he had her hands against the wall. Suddenly, there was a loud _bang_ but before Yuffie even knew what was happening, she found herself behind pushed aside. She fell onto the floor but found she was unable to move.

"Who the hell are you!?" She heard the man demand but there was no reply. The sound of swords clashing filled the room, shortly followed by a _thud_. Then, silence surrounded them. Yuffie felt someone grab hold of her shoulder and she froze.

"Come on, get up." Yuffie, whose eyes were still tightly shut, found herself being lifted into a sitting position with her back against the wall. She grimaced slightly as pain from her injuries throbbed in response to being moved. She didn't dare open her eyes for a few moments, out of fear of what they would do to her.

"Yuffie…" Upon hearing that voice, Yuffie's eyes instantly opened and a weak smile lined her face.

_--_

_Sorry it's not uber long or meaty but yeah...next one should be good  
In the meantime, I'm trying to persuade my dad to let me have a drive around the campsite...to noo avail...aww  
Review please? _

"Cloud…"


	20. Chapter 20

_Ok first things first, I owe everyone an appology. I know I haven't updated in ages and I haven't got anything to blame but the release of Soul Calibur 4 and the fact that I've been doing a part time job working with transcripts which takes up all my time anyway.  
So, I'm really sorry about that and I hope you're not too mad at me.  
Anyway, as a slight way to redeam myself, this chapter is actually the longest one I've written... slightly.  
Anyway, the usual thanks to the reviews and hits last time.  
And another thanks for everyone that's stuck with this... it was only intended to be 10 chapters long.  
Enjoy!_

_--_

**Chapter 20**

Cloud looked at Yuffie for a few moments. She was looking worse for wear, with bruises and several cuts across her arms and face. Her lip was bleeding too, probably just from the assault from that prison guard. Yuffie's next action surprised the blonde. She threw her arms around his stomach and embraced him tightly. Cloud blinked in shock as he looked down at her. So she wasn't going to murder him as he'd predicted? She wasn't going to remove his head with her shuriken and use it as her next target practise with her throwing blades? She was just going to hold onto him…like this? Well, he figured it was better than have some part of his body removed, painfully, anyway.

"You came back for me…." Yuffie's voice was muffled due to her face being pressed against his chest. Cloud placed his hand awkwardly on her back.

"Course I came back for you," He told her, "You always get into trouble without me." Yuffie gave a little laugh and squeezed him tighter.

"Just admit it; you were worried about me," She replied with a sly grin on her face. Cloud looked at the top of her head with an unimpressed expression.

His expression faded however as he noticed Yuffie wince as he squeezed her a little tighter. She looked like she was hurting all over.

"I'm sorry," He said so quietly that she had to strain her ears to hear him. She leaned backwards to look at his face but he avoided her gaze. Suddenly he found he couldn't look at her. It was partly his fault that she was in the state she was in.

"What are you saying sorry for?" She asked him with an unnaturally serious expression.

"It's my fault… I should have been there to look after you," He told her as he let go of her. Unexpectedly, Yuffie punched his shoulder rather hard, causing even him to wince.

"I don't anybody to look after me, jerk," She stressed and he scowled slightly at her.

"Obviously," He replied before he could stop himself. Yuffie's expression darkened.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about loosing your job?" She snapped, causing him to cast her another unimpressed expression. He then shook his head and got to his feet, regaining his usual 'serious' stance.

"We should be concentrating on getting out of here," He stated and Yuffie figured she couldn't argue with that. In fact, once she'd seen Cloud stood there, she'd completely forgotten about her surroundings. She'd even almost forgotten about her injuries… until Cloud had hugged her a little too tightly. She paused in her thought for a minute - Cloud had hugged her? Well, she'd hugged him first admittedly but he had returned it. She felt her stomach knot slightly as she thought about it. She'd hugged Cloud!

"_I wonder how many times Tifa has hugged him…?" _She wondered, completely oblivious to the fact that Cloud was talking again, "_Wait, why am I think about this now? And why am I even thinking about my completion with Tifa? Is it even competition anyway? I mean, does she even like Cloud? She said she didn't but I think she's lying-"_

"Yuffie, are you even listening to me?" Cloud's voice snapped the brunette out of her wandering thoughts. She blinked at him, wearing a blank expression; obviously stating that she had no idea what he'd been talking about. Cloud sighed inwardly, "I was just saying that we'd better get out of here before someone realises what's going on.".

"I guess…" Yuffie said in agreement and Cloud looked at her for a moment or two.

"Can you get up and walk?" He enquired. Yuffie nodded weakly.

"I think I'll be fine," She replied before slowly getting to her feet. She clutched her stomach for a moment, leaning up against the wall. It was still aching from her previous assault; she knew a few of her rubs had been broken and it hurt her to breath but she gritted her teeth and straightened up anyway. She made an attempt to move forwards but she stumbled forwards. To her surprise, she felt Cloud's strong arms around her, supporting her weight so she could stand up properly. Yuffie glanced at his face for a moment; his mako tinted eyes were shinning with concern.

"Sorry…" Yuffie mumbled an apology, "I should be fine in a few moments." Cloud nodded and they began to make their way out of the cell. It was slow going; Yuffie's injuries prevented them from moving any faster than a walk. Yuffie cursed herself inwardly; she hated the fact it was her that was slowing them down. Yet, even if she walked without Cloud's help, they still wouldn't be able to move any faster.

After walking along several different corridors, Yuffie began to wonder why no guards or security had shown up. It all felt a little too… easy and it was starting to unnerve her. She had a feeling that Cloud felt the same, as she noticed his muscles had tightened… not that she was staring at his arms or anything.

A few moments later they came across a door at the end of the corridor. They came to a halt and Yuffie glanced at Cloud.

"Did you come through this door on your way here?" She enquired and Cloud shrugged.

"I can't really remember which way I came in," He replied and Yuffie scowled at him.

"You mean you've been making this up as you go along?" She stated in disbelief and he shrugged again. Cloud pushed the door open with his free hand and they made their way inside. Before they could even register what was in the room, the door swung shut behind them, causing Yuffie to jump in surprise.

"Well, isn't this sweet…" They both turned their heads in unison to the source of the voice, "The reunion between bodyguard and client. Why, she's even got you carrying her as well; did you sign up as a pack horse too?"

"Sephian you bastard…" Yuffie snarled upon seeing the dark haired man. He merely smirked at her words.

"So, trying to escape eh?" He stated humorously, "Well this won't do at all, especially since you haven't managed to help us out yet," In one swift motion, he withdrew his sword from the scabbard that hung loosely by his side and pointed it at both of them, "So, are you going to go back to your cell or am I going to have to make you?" Yuffie opened her mouth to argue but Cloud cut her off.

"Stay here," He instructed her and Yuffie glared at him.

"Hell no!" She exclaimed, "I wanna go kick his ass!" Cloud cast her an unimpressed expression.

"You're not really in any shape to go 'kicking his ass'," He told her and she scowled, "Wait here and stay out of trouble." Yuffie was about to argue with him but he let go of her, letting her fall backwards into the wall. She let herself slide down until she was sitting on the floor.

"Bastard…" She mumbled but Cloud ignored her as he began to walk towards Sephian, with his hand on the handle of his sword.

"I'm guessing you're the guy responsible for this," Cloud began and Sephian smiled.

"Yes, I suppose that would be me," He replied, "You must be Cloud Strife… bodyguard work eh? Must be a little tedious compared to your usual missions, I assume?"

"Not with people like you around," Cloud said and Sephian gave another smirk.

"Well, I do my best," Cloud drew his sword and held it at the ready. Sephian eyed it for a moment, "But I'm getting bored of this… let's have a bit of fun, shall we?" Suddenly, guards appeared from all the sides of the room, wielding all sorts of different weapons. Yuffie looked around at them in horror; how the hell could there have been so many and she hadn't even noticed them. Cloud looked a bit surprised also; obviously he hadn't noticed them either. Before Cloud could even think up a plan of action, all the soldiers seemed to run at him at once. Cloud turned away from Sephian just in time to block some of the attacks that were sent at him. He forced the attackers away from him and swung his sword to block the assault from behind him. The swords clashed together loudly, but Cloud's attack was slightly stronger than the others. He pushed them backwards, causing some of them to stumble. Cloud was quick with his execution; he swing his sword sideways. The blade cut through the chests of some of the soldiers and they slumped to the floor. Cloud had little time to defend from the front again, as another wave of attacks came his way. He was able to parry them all, but had to quickly fend off more attacks from behind.

Yuffie watched intently from her position on the floor. Cloud seemed to be holding them off ok for now but what if the constant attacks from all sides began to wear him down? He couldn't keep this up forever. Yuffie cursed herself for being in this state. She wanted to help him more than anything. She wanted to be with him, fighting side by side but her current predicament wouldn't even let her stand without his help. Not only that but she didn't have any of her weapons on her, since they'd been confiscated before she'd even regained consciousness. Yuffie felt her stomach knot slightly; she felt useless. Cloud was out there, practically fighting for his life and all she could do was sit here and watch.

"_Ugh, since when have I gotten so weak?_" She thought to herself as she watched Cloud take down another soldier, "_The only chance I get to prove to Cloud that I'm a better fighter than he is and I'm too weak to even pick myself off the ground._" This totally sucked.

"Well, well…" Yuffie abruptly snapped out of her thoughts to see that one of the soldiers had snuck away from the crowd and was making his way towards her instead. He wore a sly smile on his worn face and tightened his grip on the curved blade he held loosely by his side. Yuffie cursed herself for getting too distracted to notice his presence before. He'd had the chance to sneak up and could have even killed her and she wouldn't have noticed it was too late. Luckily, this guy had decided that stealth wasn't necessary for this kill.

"Looks like I'm going to be the one to get rid of the helpless little ninja," He stated but Yuffie said nothing; she merely raised an eyebrow at him. The soldier raised his sword and Yuffie saw her chance. Ignoring the pain that seemed to spread through her body, she swiftly kicked him in-between the legs. The soldier doubled over and instantly dropped the sword he was holding. While he was momentarily distracted, Yuffie picked up the blade that had conveniently fallen at her feet and pointed it at him. Sure, she'd never been one for sword play but she had a basic understanding of how it worked. As long as the sharp bit went inside the bad guy she'd be fine. She looked up at into the suddenly nervous eyes of the guard.

"I'm injured… but never helpless," She smirked before finishing him off with one downwards swing. His body slumped to the for and Yuffie took a moment to catch her breath. She was aching all over; those guards certainly hadn't given her the light treatment. After a minute or two she opened her eyes to check on how Cloud was coping. More guards had fallen but he appeared to have weakened slightly. He wouldn't be able to fight like this forever. Yuffie's gaze shifted towards Cloud's left and to where Sephian was stood. He was watching Cloud fight closely, unaware of Yuffie's previous situation. She paused for a minute; he looked as though he was only interested in watching Cloud fight. Maybe she'd be able to sneak up behind him and finish him off.

"_It'd be exactly what he'd deserve…" _She thought to herself as she tightened her grip on the sword she was holding. Gritting her teeth, Yuffie forced herself onto her feet. Her ribs felt like they were on fire but she did her best to ignore that burning pain.

"Just hang in there a little longer…" She told herself as she trudged forwards, holding onto the sword as if it were her the only thing keeping her alive. She glanced upwards, towards her destination. Sephian still hadn't noticed Yuffie's movements and Cloud was still too busy taking care of the soldiers to notice either, "Just a little more…." She was nearly there now. Her grip on the sword's handle was so tight that her knuckles were turning white.

Suddenly, Sephian smirked. He spun around and, before Yuffie could even register what was happening, he impaled his swords in the ninja's stomach.

"Pity…." He spoke casually as blood oozed out of the wound, "I would have loved to have filmed this for your father to see but I guess we can't win them all." He pushed the blade further and smirked at the expression on the brunette's face, "So tell me; how does it feel to die Ms. Kisaragi?" To his surprise, Yuffie laughed. It was weak and looked as though it hurt to do so, but it was a laugh none the less.

"You don't have to ask me that," Yuffie stated and he frowned. Using her remaining strength, Yuffie slammed the blade straight into Sephian's chest, "I'd rather let you find out yourself." Sephian's eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and horror before his body slumped to the floor. Yuffie leaned backwards on the wall behind her. Her entire body felt numb; she couldn't even feel the pain anymore. From the corner of her eye she saw Cloud finish off the remaining soldiers and he turned to look at her. His mouth opened but she couldn't hear what he said. A strange buzzing had filled her ears; it was almost like some kind of static. She slid further down the wall, as her legs were unable to support her any longer. She felt someone grab hold of her but her vision was now so blurry that she couldn't even make out the shape of them.

"Yuffie!" She faintly heard what she guessed was Cloud's voice and a small smile lined her face.

"Thanks Cloud… for everything…." She murmured, unable to see Cloud's reaction, "…at least I get die in a cool way huh? You're jealous, right…?"

"Yuffie!" She faintly heard Cloud's voice again but was unable to hear anything more than her name as she felt the world around her fading and she slipped away into the creeping darkness.

--

_Omg...she's dead. Or is she... or whatever.  
Anyway, since this next chapter will most probably be my next chapter, I promise to dedicate it to my 100th reviewer... if that's like something cool or whatever.  
So... reviews please? They are cool (:  
Ok... I'll update this asap once I've gotten all the transcripts out the way._

_Thanking you.  
Love you all (:  
_


	21. Chapter 21

_Oh my, I've actually updated this for the first time in nearly over a year! I could give a thousand excuses as to why I haven't, but I'm not going to bore you all.  
So thanks if you're actually returning to read this because your patience must be amazing. Appologies for the wait but here it is.  
This was originally going to be the last chapter...but I've decided to add one more. Don't like finishing on an odd number ;)  
Anyway, enjoy._

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**Chapter 21**

"Yuffie," She could have sworn she heard someone faintly call her name. An angel perhaps? She opened her eyes before squinting almost seconds after; blinded as a brilliant white light greeted her. It was hardly as gentle or peaceful as she'd imagined it would be; it was slightly disorientating if anything. Her eyes couldn't really focus on anything as a face looked down at her. Yuffie smiled, it had to be an angel welcoming her into heaven, right? Cause let's face it, someone as awesome as her would just have to go to heaven. However, she frowned as the face slowly came into focus. She could see long dark hair, a beard and she noticed that he had pretty bad breath too. Her frown deepened; this was no angel!

"_Aw come on!" _She thought desperately to herself, "_I know I've been a bit of a pain in the ass but surely I wasn't bad enough to have to go to hell!" _She looked up at the hideous figure in front of her before she held her hands in front of her face, in order to shield her eyes.

"Please don't eat my soul!" She exclaimed. Well, as best she could with such a weak voice.

"Yuffie, what are you talking about?" At these words, Yuffie peered out from a small gap in her hands and looked at the face in front of her again. It wasn't a demon after all. No, the face that was looking back at her, with a slightly concerned look, was in fact Godo Kisaragi. Yuffie gave an annoyed 'huff' as she moved her hands from her face and dropped her arms in a sulky manner.

"Sheesh, you're even following me into the afterlife," She commented in an irritated voice, "Just can't let me die in peace can you? You have to die as well, just so you can make my death a completely misery too." Godo scowled at her words.

"Stop being childish Yuffie," He told her, "You're not dead." Yuffie blinked in surprise.

"I'm not…dead?" She repeated carefully and Godo nodded his head. Yuffie continued to look at him for a moment before her eyes began to trace around the room around her. She recognised it now she was paying attention; she was in her father's mansion. It was the room she'd been allocate once he'd kicked her out of her house…how the hell did she get here?

"But Sephian stabbed me…" She thought aloud as her eyes shifted back onto her father, "I could have sworn I was dead. I felt it…if that's possible. I couldn't have survive that."

"Well obviously you could, because you're still here," Godo stated as he turned away from her. Yuffie said nothing for a few moments as she thought back to what she thought had been her 'final moments'. She'd stabbed Sephian, after receiving her own wound before she collapsed into Cloud's arms. She glanced around the room; where was Cloud? Was he ok? She had to talk to him! Yuffie forced herself to sit up, but then instantly regretted it afterwards. She gave a sharp cry as an agonising pain shot through her stomach. It felt like the blade had gone straight through her stomach again as her wound reopened and blood seeped through the bandage it had been dressed in. Her father spun around instantly upon hearing Yuffie cry and he marched over to her.

"What do you think you're doing?!" He snapped as Yuffie sat, her face screwed up in pain, "You've reopened your wound! Lay back down now!" Yuffie couldn't even find the strength to argue with him as he gently eased her back down on the mattress. She gave a few sharp intakes of breath as she forced back the tears. It throbbed violently, causing an aching sensation that engulfed her entire stomach. Her father had called for the doctor again, before her turned around to look at his daughter; an angry expression lined his face.

"What was that all about?" He demanded and Yuffie gritted her teeth as the pain dulled slightly.

"I wanted to talk to Cloud," She told him although it felt like an effort to do so. Godo looked at her for a moment or two before his expression softened slightly.

"Cloud's gone Yuffie," He told her, "He took his money and left the day before yesterday." Yuffie shot him a surprised glance - Cloud was gone?

"W-what do you mean…?" She asked weakly, "What happened…how did I get here?" Godo opened his mouth but then paused before he glanced back at her again, as if wondering whether to tell her or not. Yuffie met his gaze, with a confused expression and he sighed.

"When Cloud arrived in Wutai with you a few weeks ago, you were…you were in such a bad way," Godo began, "He said that he'd used as much cure materia as he could and he'd managed to keep you alive for the journey…but you were in such a bad way. The doctors were surprised that you hadn't bled to death…but if it wasn't for Cloud then you probably would have." Yuffie felt tears prickling in the corner her eyes. Cloud had saved her. Not only had he come rushing into Sephian's base to rescue her, but he'd carried her all the way back home, sustaining her life by using materia, probably exhausting his own mental capabilities.

But then, he'd left her here. Took his money and went.

Was that all she was to him? Was that the only reason he'd fought to save her…just to get his money? For some reason, Yuffie doubted that. There had been something in his eyes the moment he'd seen her in that cell; something more than relief to see she was ok.

"_Friendship…._" Yuffie thought to herself, as she shifted her head around on the pillow. Cloud had already made it kinda clear that he didn't want a relationship with her, but that wasn't to say they couldn't be friends. Yuffie would take friendship anytime if it meant she could still have some form of relationship with him. It wasn't the relationship she wanted…but she would just have to accept that and move on with it.

Yuffie sighed inwardly, trying to ignore that horrible pang of sadness that was twisting inside her stomach. What was it about the one person who irritated her the most, was the person she wanted the most? Why did the man who had exposed all her weaknesses and broken down all her defences, be the one who made her feel safe and secure, giving her strength to do anything? She thought he was a stubborn jerk but she loved the fact he challenged her. His outward arrogance drove her insane but she knew he was sensitive underneath it all. Why, out of all the people in the world, had she fallen for Cloud Strife? The stupid, chocobo haired, smug, self-righteous, irritating, mercenary jerk who would never, ever return the feelings she had for him.

Before Yuffie realised what was happening, she'd burst into tears. She let them free fall down her cheeks as she began sobbing uncontrollably. She didn't even know why she was crying. Maybe it was due to her injuries, the stress and pain her body was in. Maybe it was because of what she had to go through when she'd been kidnapped and beaten by Sephian. Maybe it was because she'd been away from home for so long and found herself in totally alien and unfamiliar places. Maybe it was because she wasn't sure how to react to all these feelings that felt like they were exploding in her chest. Or maybe it could even be the fact that she was alive, after being so sure that she would die. She felt so dam tired, confused and all emotional in one go and she simply didn't know what to do anymore, so she just cried.

Godo was looking down at her with an expression of surprise. He was temporality stunned from seeing his daughter acting like her usual 'know-it-all' self to abruptly breaking out into fits of uncontrollable sobbing. As he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks, he realised just how long it had been since he'd actually seen his daughter crying. The last time Yuffie had cried had been a couple of months after her mother had died. She'd barely been five years old at the time; some boys had been calling her names and one of them had even shoved her over. She'd come running to Godo, all teary as her knees had been scraped and she'd gotten mud all over her clothes. Godo thought back to how unsympathetic he'd been to his daughter, as he told her to stop crying. Instead of comforting her, he'd scolded her for not sticking up for herself and letting people push her around. Rather than cleaning up her knees, he told her to get used to the pain and deal with it. He didn't fetch her some clean clothes and gently reassure her that it was ok, he'd simply sent her away from him and told the servants to deal with her. Ever since that day, Godo had never seen a single tear slide down her cheek. Every time someone insulted on her, Yuffie shot another insult back at them. When someone hit her, Yuffie hit them back twice as hard. Whenever she injured herself, Yuffie would ignore it. Even when the servants cleaned her wounds, she sat in silence, never uttering a single sound. She never bothered him when she ripped her trousers, or muddied her tops; she just got on with it.

And he'd wondered why Yuffie never wanted to spend time with him; why she would resent him whenever he was talking to her and do whatever she could to annoy him. The answer was simple enough, now that he thought about it.

He was never there for her when she needed him to be.

Godo had shirked his responsibly as Yuffie's parent ever since her mother had died, purely because he was afraid. Yuffie's mother had meant the world to him and loosing her had hurt much more than any battle wound ever could have. Godo hadn't wanted to feel that pain ever again, so he had distanced himself from his daughter in an attempt to avoid growing another attachment. That way, he'd never have to feel like that again. But now he realised that in his selfishness, he'd probably hurt her much more than he'd intended. Yet when Cloud had brought his daughter back in his arms and Godo had seen her in that state, he felt that pain all over again. He'd been by her side the whole time as his daughter fought for her life whilst he could only sit and watch. When Cloud had told him of Yuffie's bravery and her victory over Sephian, Godo felt like his heart would burst with pride. Yet there was a feeling of sadness as he realised that he had been the one who'd gotten her into this predicament. Yuffie had suffered greatly as a result of Godo's actions and that was something he could never forgive himself for. It was something he never expected her to forgive him for.

But upon seeing his daughter suddenly break down into tears like this, Godo swore to himself that he would never allow anyone to hurt her like this again. He would be there for her when she needed him to be, even if she hated him for what he'd done.

He crouched down and took hold of Yuffie's hand. He was surprised by the fact that Yuffie didn't even try to jerk her hand away; she didn't even glare at him. She just continued to cry and Godo let her. She needed to get it all out of her system. After all she'd been through she needed some kind of emotional release and he just wanted to let her know that she didn't have to suffer through it alone anymore.

The two of them stayed like that for a while. Yuffie cried until she felt like she simply had no more water left in her body for tears. Godo said nothing but stayed by her side the whole time. Yuffie wasn't sure if she was thankful or not, but it nice to have some company even if it was the man she usually tried to stay away from. When she finally stopped, she gave a sniff and wiped her eyes with her free hand. She glanced down at Godo, who gave her a slight smile. Well, if you can count the mouth twitching as a smile at least. It surprised Yuffie but she was far too tired to comment to it. Instead, she looked up towards the ceiling and closed her eyes.

"_Dammit, Cloud….why do you have to be such a jerk?" _

* * *

_So Yuffie's not dead ;)  
But where's Cloud? Ah ha, this one I will update soon. No lies :)  
Peace and love._


	22. Chapter 22

_Omg I cannot believe how long it's been since I actually updated and I have to appologise! I could try and give a long list of excuses as to why I haven't had chance to but I'm just going to blame starting University! Dam those lectures in the morning and those essays they set.....  
Anyway, I was only going to write one more chapter and end it there, but I kinda ended up splitting it up into two seperate one. So, there is one last installment after this one, well at least that's the plan.  
So thank you if you've actually continued reading this after my 'absence'. And thanks for reviewing, because they were the things that gave me a kick up the backside to actually write this chapter.  
Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 22**

"_Mmmm…this feels so goooood!" _Yuffie thought as the hot water soaked her pale skin. Usually, her skin was rather nicely tanned, but due to the lack of sunlight she'd gotten over the past couple of weeks, it had lost some of it's 'golden glow'. Of course, Yuffie had been a little miffed about this but it wasn't something she could help really. However, it did give her an excuse to go outside and enjoy the sunshine again; which was something she had missed after being cooped up inside all day.

However, there was no sun in the sky at this hour. Yuffie had opted for a 'moonlight bath' in the private bath, situated in her father's mansion. One reason being that she wanted to relax someplace that wasn't her room or bed. It was important that she distress apparently and she was beginning to get annoyed with the same surroundings day after day. Also, it was because nobody else ever dreamed of being out this late, so she was free from everyone's pestering and concern. Plus, she was kinda sat in there mostly naked, apart from the massive bandage that had been tied tightly around her stomach. She chuckled mischievously at the thought of anyone catching her like this - it'd probably scare them to death. As her smile faded, she found her fingertips lightly tracing the fabric that covered the wound. It was mostly healed now but it was definitely going to scar. That was a bit of a bummer; after all, most of the tops she wore had been designed to show off a little midriff. It'd be very attractive with a whooping great scar stretching across her stomach.

"_Let's just hope it only scars lightly…." _She thought to herself, before leaning her head back against the wooden rim of the bath. Her dark eyes gazed upwards at the starts above and her mind began wandering. She thought back to the time when she and Cloud were travelling from Rocket Town, and they'd set up camp halfway there. She gave a faint smile as she recalled falling asleep with her head on his shoulder, but then her smile faded soon afterwards. What she'd give to be falling asleep on Cloud's shoulder right now. She hastily pushed that thought from her mind and continued recalling the night they'd spent on that mountain top. They'd been halfway to arriving at Nibelheim….Yuffie's thoughts than paused for a moment.

"_Of course,_" She mused as she shifted herself around in the bath slightly, "_Cloud will be in Nibelheim with Tifa. Why didn't I realise this before?_" She thought back to all the smiles Cloud had worn when they'd been staying at Tifa's house; it made sense that he would have gone back and declared his love for her, or something along those lines. It wasn't like he'd proclaim love for Yuffie anyway, not after he'd shot her down so badly when she expressed her interest in him before she'd been kidnapped. Yuffie felt her heart pang slightly; those memories still stirred up sadness within her. It had been Cloud's expression that had totally crushed her. It had made her realise the huge mistake she'd made assuming that he liked her too.

"Ugh…." Yuffie closed her eyes and tried to push those thoughts from her head. Why was she thinking about this now? Again. She should be happy that she's alive and able to continue on with her life, with or without Cloud. But what was she going to do now?

Yuffie gave a sigh as she opened her eyes again. She'd probably end up staying in Wutai and start learning how to run the city in preparation for the day it would be passed down to her. Then, she'd probably have to marry the most 'suitable' man who had some kind of diplomatic influence, securing Wutai's future for the years she would be Empress. She would be expected to produce heirs for the throne and they would take over once she was too old to manage it anymore. Then she would die, still longing for the adventure she probably would never have. These thoughts depressed her more than anything. It was like her life was already planned out for her and she had no control over the way it ran. She thought about seeing all the girl's jealous expressions when they thought how she was the future Empress and laughed bitterly. If anything, she was the one who was jealous of them. She then recalled how Tifa had said something about her 'living every girl's dream' and then going on about 'castles, dresses and Prince Charmings.' Yuffie scowled; why couldn't people see that being a Princesses doesn't automatically make your life a fairy tale. There's nothing romantic about being forced into the best political marriage and there was nothing sugary about having everyone walk on eggshells around you because, apparently, being of royal bloodline meant that everyone has to treat you differently. Yes, she did get a nice house and a fairly large sum of money but what good was that when the only thing she wanted was so far out of her reach.

"Um…Miss Yuffie…?" Yuffie snapped out her thoughts instantly and glanced over her shoulder, surprised by visitors at this hour. It was one of the servants, as she had suspected, and the woman bowed as Yuffie looked at them, "Forgive me for interrupting Miss, but you have a visitor who wishes to see you."

"A visitor?" This perked Yuffie's interest instantly, as she straightened herself up, only to wince as her wound throbbed at the movement. Luckily, the servant was looking away as she winced or they might have made a fuss about it, "I'll be out in a few moments." She noticed the servant give another bow from the corner of her eye, before they hastily made their way back inside.

Yuffie waited a few moments before she grabbed the towel that she had placed on the steps behind her. Glancing around to check that no one was looking, she hastily got to her feet and wrapped it around her as she climbed out of the bath and down the steps, wrapping the towel around herself as she did so. She glanced around, making sure she was definitely on her own before progressing onto the corridor. It was hard for her to quell the excitement that had begun to rise in her chest, even though she was trying her hardest not to think about it.

Yuffie couldn't remember ever getting dressed so fast. Of course, this was quite impressive given the fact that she was still sporting an injury. Still, she pushed the discomfort to the back of her mind as she quickly proceeded towards the mansion's 'reception room'. Her excitement seemed to grow with every step she took towards those Wutai style double doors. _A visitor? _Just who wanted to see her at this time of night? Who was she going to see when she pushed those doors open? Yuffie grinned to herself; she couldn't help but picture the familiar blonde haired man giving her his trademark smirk as she walked in. She could just imagine the grin that would break onto her own face, but then she'd probably end up throwing her shoe at him or something, before shouting at him for leaving her. Yeah, that would be a good idea. Plotting out things she could call him, she marched up towards the doors and pushed them open, a little harder than she'd originally intended. Taking a deep breath to prepare her first insult, Yuffie stepped inside and then stopped dead.

"S-Shu…?" The words left her mouth before she could stop them. The dark haired man, who had been looking out of a window on the opposite wall, turned around upon hearing his name. A smile lined his face as he saw Yuffie staring at him from the doorway.

"Ah, Your Highness," He greeted, looking oddly pleased to see her, "I'm so happy to see that you're safe." Yuffie said nothing in response; she didn't even screw up her face in annoyance at the use of her title. She just looked at him, unable to speak due to the huge wave of disappointment that had washed over her. How could she have been so stupid as to let herself get worked up over something like this? Cloud hadn't been to see her in the last few weeks. He'd rescued her from Sephian, delivered her to Wutai and then had left with his money. He didn't care what happened afterwards, why should he? His contract had been fulfilled and that was all he was bothered about. So why, why had she let herself think that he would be here to check up on her? Leviathan, she thought she was over this! She forced herself to swallow that sudden sadness that had overcome her once again and stepped forwards into the room, letting the doors swing shut behind her. She gave Shu a forced smile, still trying to ignore the disappointment.

"How are your injuries?" Shu enquired carefully. Yuffie glanced back at him, surprised to see him looking generally concerned for her well-being.

"Uh, ok I guess," She replied, feeling a little uncomfortable all of a sudden, "I mean, it still kinda hurts but…I'm not gonna die or anything." Shu nodded in response, looking relived.

"I'm glad to hear that you've recovered," He told her before he turned away and looked back at the window, "When I heard about what happened to you…I was so angry but whenever I asked about it, no one would tell me how you were doing. I was worried…but I'm happy to see that you're safe and that you're doing ok." Yuffie said nothing. In fact, it felt like words had escaped her. Since when had Shu ever acted like this? He was the snotty, bratty rich kid who had always tried to suck up to her. Yet here he was, being considerate and concerned about her. Yuffie frowned; since when had he grown up? Yuffie opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to think of something to say but Shu spoke before she could think of anything.

"Look, I know that you and I have had our…disagreements in the past," Shu continued, still looking away from her, "And I know that I cannot even begin to imagine what you went through, what you've been through these past few weeks but…I just wanted you to know that if you ever needed anyone to talk to about anything, then I'll be here if you need me." Yuffie blinked, rather taken aback by Shu's words. She looked at him for a moment, thinking back to all the times the two of them had argued or fought…then she paused to correct herself. All the times she'd argued with or fought him, then frowned.

"But why?" She began, causing him to look back at her with a surprised expression, "Why are you being so nice to me when all I've ever done is be a complete jerk to you?" Shu then looked away from her again for a moment and gave a sigh.

"I realised that I had been a jerk to you too, Yuffie," He told her, "In fact, I've been pretty intolerable. I just wanted to apologise and maybe try to do something about the way we seem to hate each other. I've been acting childish; I want to make up for that." Yuffie continued to look at him for a moment, before giving an awkward smile.

"I guess we've both been acting like kids, huh?" She commented and Shu nodded, with a smile also, "But still, you _really _need to stop letting a girl kick your ass so badly." Shu's smile faded as the familiar scowl lined his face instead.

"I didn't get my ass kicked so badly! I just didn't want to hit a girl," Yuffie cocked an eyebrow as she placed her hands on her hips.

"What a gentlemen you are," She replied sarcastically, "Is squealing like a baby your usual battle cry?" Shu scowled deeper and his cheeks reddened; Yuffie had to hold back a snigger. She knew she was being mean but couldn't help it; there was a teeny tiny part of her that wanted to take out her disappointment on Shu, who had caused it in the first place. Then she realised she was slipping back into old habits and shook her head.

"I'm sorry," She apologised, "I'm just tired." Shu's expression faded into a more sympathetic one.

"I understand," Shu replied, "I apologise for visiting so late…."

"No, it's fine…" Yuffie then paused for a moment, before forcing a smile onto her face again, "Um, thanks Shu. You know, for coming to check on me and everything…." Shu nodded.

"I'll let you get some rest then," He gave her a brief smile, before he hastily made his way over towards the doors and left the room. Yuffie stood still for a moment, before burying her face in her hands.

"I really have to get over this…."

* * *

_Soooo, still no Cloud! It all ends with my next update...so what's going to happen to poor Yuffie?  
I'd like to promise that I'll update soon but I said that last time. Hopefully, I will be able to update before Christmas! Just need to finish off my essay first....  
Anyways, you're thoughts on this one would be greatly appriciated *loves*  
Once again, thank you for sticking with the story!_


	23. Chapter 23

_Ok, so here's my final chapter. Told you I'd get it done...eventually! Hope you enjoy it._

* * *

**Chapter 23**

The air up on Dao Chao was particularly cold at this time of night. Yuffie cursed under her breath as she sat over looking the city, freezing her ass off every time the wind picked up. Goosebumps had appeared over her bare skin; perhaps wearing a tank top and short shorts hadn't been the greatest idea. Why didn't she have the sense to think that she'd need to bring a bloody jacket or something. Then again, she'd been so desperate to get out of the mansion that she hadn't really thought things through properly. That thought caused her to smile grimly; not thinking things through had become a habit of hers recently. In fact, she could probably list quite a few recent and pretty grim situations she'd landed herself in as a result of rushing head first into things. Getting kidnapped and kissing Cloud, just to name a few. Patience had never been one of Yuffie's virtues, but it was only recently that had come back to bite her in the ass. Maybe Godo was right; maybe she needed to approach situations calmly and think rationally before taking any action. She then sighed inwardly; theoretically speaking, it was an easy change to make but putting that into practise would be rather difficult. Yuffie couldn't deny that there was a part of her that loved charging straight into any given situation. She loved to act on impulse and worry about the consequences later. This tactic had often worked for her in the past; she just did what she felt like doing when she felt like doing it. Yet, those past few weeks had been different. Shouting insults at Cloud and storming off blindly into a nearby wood that she had never been in before seemed like a brilliant idea at the time. Her anger wanted to make him worry about her. She had wanted to put herself in danger just as a way of getting back at him, but she hadn't counted on Sephian's men being there. Stupidly, she'd forgotten about them and waltzed straight into their hands, after all the days and effort they'd gone through just to avoid them.

"_Yeah, great idea Yuffie," _She thought to herself as she recalled the days that had followed. A sudden breeze picked up for a moment, causing her to shudder, "_Freakin' wind…." _ Climbing up Dao Chao at this time at night had been another one of her 'grand' ideas she hadn't thought through properly. But she always came here when she needed to think and she definitely needed to think at this point in time. Particularly, she needed to decided what she was going to do now. She hadn't really contemplated whether it was such a good idea to be thinking at this hour when the doctors had told her to get as much sleep as she could. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get to sleep anyway and it was hard when you got a sharp pain every time you twisted around on the mattress. Yuffie wasn't the world most 'stationary' sleeper. She fidgeted an awful lot and never stayed in one position for very long. More than once she'd woken up to find that she'd kicked the blankets off of her; she'd even found herself at the other end of the bed a few times. And she had been known to sleep walk also. Although, one of those 'sleepwalking incidents' was actually when she was trying to tail one of the servants who she'd thought had been stealing things out of her room. To cut a long story short, she ended up having to pretend that she was sleep walking when he'd happened to turn around and see her stood there. It also turned out that she'd just 'misplaced' the items she'd thought he'd stolen (one of them had actually been thrown at a particularly irritating suitor a few days prior to the incident.)

Yuffie sighed again; her thoughts were getting sidetracked once more. She hadn't come up here to think about her sleeping deficiencies or her impatience. She needed to decide about her current situation, about what she was going to do after she recovered. Her initial idea was to go out exploring. She didn't really want to spend the rest of her life stuck in Wutai and her experience in the past few weeks had really inspired her to see more of the world. Sure, she'd been to a couple of places but that was nothing compared to what was out there. Before she had to settle in as Wutai's ruler, Yuffie wanted to get out and experience what she could. Maybe it could even help her once she took up the mantle of being Wutai's Queen; having a knowledge of the rest of the world and knowing people could only aid her, not hinder. Maybe that was what Wutai was lacking? Perhaps it would be a step towards regaining Wutai's status once more? Well, despite what her father would say about it, travelling was definitely something Yuffie would do while she could. Who knows, perhaps she'll meet her potential husband out there? There was no one in Wutai that interested her and where was the rule that stated that she had to marry someone of Wutian birth? Actually, there probably was one written somewhere but Yuffie was never one for tradition. Her trail of thought saddened for a moment as she finally thought about the one person she had sworn she wouldn't think about. It was bloody typical that she would think of Cloud when contemplating about potential boyfriends.

"_Cloud's not a potential boyfriend," _She corrected herself, "_There's no chance of that ever happening." _After the excitement she had felt about possibly seeing him again earlier and then the horrible disappointment that swiftly followed, Yuffie had realised that she really had to get over him. She couldn't keep doing that to herself. They were never going to see each other again, so what was the point of pining after him? Well, maybe she would see him again if she received an invite to his and Tifa's wedding. She would totally have to bring a hot guy with her, just on principle. She would have to show him that she was doing really well for herself and that the two of them not getting together was the best thing that never happened. Then she'd probably get really jealous of how pretty Tifa would look and realise that Cloud was better off with her anyway. Tifa would make a great wife; she could cook really well, she cleaned up like a trooper and she would probably be the greatest and most loving mother one day. Yuffie, on the other hand, was difficult, argumentative and couldn't stand kids. It was no contest really; Tifa and Cloud were already married in Yuffie's head. Yuffie rubbed temples for a moment, trying to force that prospect out of her mind and concentrate on what was really important; her own future. Her own, lonely future without him. She tried to feel optimistic, despite the realisation of how much that really sucked. Dammit, if only she'd known how this would end, she'd have been so much more adamant about not having a bodyguard. When they'd first met, she'd have told him to stuff his contract up his ass and to get lost. Either that, or request a change if Godo had been just as adamant that she was having a bodyguard. If could, she'd go back in time and stop Cloud from ever travelling to Wutai. She paused in her thought; would she really pass up these memories, these feelings for him if she could? Would she really rather live in ignorance, than to have experienced these strong emotions for someone?

"Oh man…" She thought aloud, running her fingers through her hair, then burying her face in her hands, "This is getting a little deep…." She straightened up, staring out at the village below her as she tried to force those thoughts from her mind. Unsurprisingly, Wutai didn't have a vibrant nightlife. The only thing Yuffie could see down there were a few lights belonging to the houses that hadn't yet settled down for the night. The Turtle's Paradise was still open, but Yuffie figured it'd probably be closing soon. She sighed again, before it quickly changed into a yawn. Tiredness was beginning to creep up on her now and she found that she couldn't be bothered to try and fight against it anymore. It was just the sleeping part that worried her, what with her injuries and all. With one last glance up towards the sky, Yuffie slowly got to her feet. As she stood staring down at the village, it suddenly dawned on her that one day, all the people down there would be relying on her leadership.

"_Poor them…" _Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind her. Frowning, Yuffie glanced over her shoulder. As far as she knew, she was one of the only people who actually climbed this far up Dao Chao and especially at this time at night. Her hand instinctively reached for the throwing blades strapped to her thigh. Even though she knew Sephian was dead, sometimes she wondered if he had accomplices. The thought made her a little edgy, and she was determined not to be caught unprepared like last time.

But even she wasn't prepared for the person who met her gaze.

"Hey Yuffie," Yuffie blinked. Staring back at her with those mako eyes was no other than Cloud Strife. She froze, wanting to open her mouth to say something but her brain didn't seem to be getting those messages through to her mouth. He was here. He was really here? Yuffie's heart was beating so frantically that she was surprised Cloud couldn't hear it. He'd come back. He'd left her here but had returned back to her…he left her here!

"You jerk!" Cloud looked surprised by her outburst, but that only served to fuel Yuffie's sudden anger, "You stupid, chocobo headed moron!"

"Yuffie I-" Cloud began, sounding confused and looking as though he was unsure what to say.

"You _left _me!" Yuffie exclaimed, growing more annoyed at herself now she could feel tears wanting to form in the corner of her eyes, "I woke up here, on my own, with a message saying you'd taken all your money and left days ago!" Cloud continued to look at her for a moment or two through sad eyes.

"I know that you're upset-" He began, but Yuffie just glared back at him.

"Upset?" She repeated in disbelief, taking a step closer towards him as she spoke, "I'm angry, jerk ass! I trusted you as a friend and you don't even have the decency to stick around and see if you're ok. Oh no, you just take your stupid money and run, like a total-"

"Yuffie, I'm trying to tell you that I'm sorry," Yuffie stopped and looked at Cloud in alarm. The expression on his face was one of such sadness that she faltered.

"C-Cloud?"

"Yuffie…I want to apologise for…what I said and the fact that I wasn't able to protect you from them…" He paused for a moment, looking at her through dismayed eyes, "You were hurt because of me…" He took a step closer to her and, much to Yuffie's surprise, placed a gentle hand across Yuffie's stomach, "You got this wound…because of me." Yuffie's heart skipped violently at his touch. She slowly looked up from his hand to look at his face again.

"Cloud…this wasn't your fault," She then paused, raising an eyebrow as she did so, "Well, maybe some of it is, but the only reason I got this wound was because I was being reckless." She then placed her hand gently on Cloud's forearm. He looked a little taken aback at first but Yuffie just smiled awkwardly at him.

"If anything, you're the one who saved my ass…" She continued, now feeling even more uncomfortable as Cloud looked at her. She managed a little laugh, "Jeez Cloud, stop being so serious all the time. You're always frowning anyway…you don't need anymore reasons to." Cloud said nothing for what felt like hours. He just stared at Yuffie, making her feel more awkward by the second. She quickly let go of him, letting her arm dangle by her side, feeling a little useless. Cloud turned away from her for a moment as his eyes looked over the sleeping town beneath them. The silence was finally broken by Cloud's quiet voice.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you…at Tifa's," He began, sounding uncomfortable, "I…I didn't mean for it to sound like it did…I mean, I was trying to say-"

"It's ok Cloud. I get it," Yuffie interrupted, giving him a forced smile, "I mean, I understand that you don't feel that way about me and I guess I totally overreacted…_really _overreacted." She glanced away from him for a moment, feeling suddenly embarrassed now that she admitted it.

"No Yuffie, it's not that…" He paused for a moment, causing Yuffie to give him a curious expression. There was a horrible tinge of hope that was tugging at her stomach, and she didn't like it. There was something about the way Cloud was looking at her…but what if she was just imagining it? Yuffie wasn't sure she could take the disappointment all over again. Cloud opened his mouth, before closing it again. An evil part of her wanted to laugh at his sudden inability to talk, but she knew that this _really _wasn't the time. Plus, Cloud looked quite serious but there was also a certain sadness, shinning in his mako infused eyes. Yes, now really wasn't the time for laughing.

"The last time I felt like this towards someone…she died in my arms," Cloud then looked away from Yuffie for a moment, "She was killed and I couldn't do anything to save her." Yuffie's gaze was fixed on Cloud's face and the grief it suddenly portrayed.

"Cloud, I…." She began but the words died on the tip of her tongue. For once, she didn't know what to say.

"When she died, it felt like my whole world had died with her," Cloud continued, his tone of voice sounding distant, "I didn't want to be hurt like that again, so I tried to shut out those feelings." Finally, he looked back up at Yuffie again. Yuffie met his gaze; she could feel her whole body shaking as her heart beat frantically against her chest. Surely he could hear how loud it was being?

"But I…I can't. When you collapsed at the base…I thought you were…and all I could think about was the way I treated you and what I said to you…." His words trailed off again. Yuffie wanted to scream. The suspense was killing her. She wanted to hit him around the face to make him spit it out, but then decided that was also a bad idea.

"Yuffie I…I love you." Yuffie froze. She slowly turned to look at him with a blank expression on her face.

"W-What?" She managed to stutter, inwardly cursing Leviathan for not enabling her to say something a little bit more cool, or meaningful. Unfortunately, her mouth seemed to have a mind of it own and her mouth's mind was a bit more retarded. Cloud looked away from her, as though looking at her face was the most impossible thing to do right now.

"I'm sorry…." As Cloud began to walk away from her, Yuffie's eyes widened in alarm.

"No, Cloud wait-" She reached out and grabbed his arm without realising she was doing it. He looked at her with an expression of slight surprise, but nothing could mirror the surprise showing on Yuffie's face. She had paused, still holding onto his arm as if there was a risk of it falling off. Words had suddenly escaped her, which was a very rare occurrence. She stared at him, frantically searching for something to say, as the silence between them was killing her.

"ButwhataboutTifa," She blurted, speaking so quickly that she was amazed Cloud could understand what she said. When a sadness flashed across his eyes, she instantly regretted it.

"Tifa is…" Cloud began, glancing away from Yuffie for a moment, "She's my closet friend…. I may have had feelings for her at one time but I…." Yuffie wanted to argue that Tifa must still carry some feelings for Cloud, but then realised most normal people wouldn't want him to change his mind. She also realised she was still holding tightly onto his arm, and sheepishly let go. Cloud probably took that the wrong way, but Yuffie spoke before Cloud could continue.

"You know, I hated you when we first met, but now I think I hate you even more," Her words caused Cloud to blink, but she spoke with the faintest trace of a smile, "You're arrogant, smug, incapable of admitting you're wrong…the list could go on. Only you would have the nerve to abandon me here and then return weeks later to tell me you…love me. You're a jerk." Cloud said nothing, but that only caused Yuffie's smile to grow.

"But I'm a jerk too," She continued, "And we'd make the most incompatible couple ever…but that's kinda why I like it." Cloud stared at her, trying to understand what she was saying.

"You mean you…?" He began, but Yuffie just scowled at him.

"Don't make me say it chocobo head," She snapped, before noticing a smile tugging very lightly at the corner of Cloud's mouth. Her scowl deepened, yet before she had the chance to say another insult, Cloud cut her off by pressing his lips against hers. Yuffie mind went blank. And, if it were possible, her mind went blanker as Cloud placed his hand on her cheek and gently caressed her skin with his thumb. Every feeling for him seemed to surface, screaming for her to just devour his lips but Yuffie refused. No, she wasn't going to let him win that easily…at least not yet.

"_But that doesn't mean I don't have to enjoy this…" _She thought to herself, as she slid her hand into Cloud's surprisingly soft blonde hair. When she finally leant back, breaking the kiss, she smiled to herself.

"Hmm, so that's what your hair feels like," She commented, causing Cloud to glance at her in surprise. She chuckled.

"So…what happens now?" Cloud asked, after a moment of staring at her. His hand was still resting on her cheek, making her skin feel like it was burning from under his touch. Yuffie placed her hand on his for a few seconds, before pulling a thoughtful expression.

"Hmm, well in a few years time I'll be the Empress of Wutai; ruling over my subjects in my reign of complete awesomeness," She began, causing Cloud to roll his eyes slightly. Yuffie smiled, "But first, I wanna see the world…visit as many different places as I can. You've travelled around a lot, right?" Cloud nodded his head, before allowing a faint smile onto his face.

"You want me to show you around, right?" He asked and Yuffie nodded her head enthusiastically as she wrapped her arms around Cloud's neck, "Alright…I guess I could."

"Awesome," She replied, "Well, let's get going." Cloud blinked at her.

"What, now?" He enquired, causing her to nod her head again, "But, what about your father?" A grin had appeared on Yuffie's face, as she let her arms fall from Cloud's neck.

"He'll be fine," She told him, "I'll phone him in the morning or something, just to let him know what I'm doing." Cloud looked back at her, unimpressed.

"Yuffie, he'll kill you," Cloud stated in a weary voice, but Yuffie just smirked at him.

"I know," She replied, before folding her arms, "And that's why I want to be as far away from him as possible when I do." Cloud regarded her for a moment or two, before he shook his head.

"You're impossible," He commented, but it only caused the petite ninja to grin at him.

"Well, you've let yourself in for it now, you know?" To her mild surprise, Cloud just smiled at her. She returned a little laugh, "Come on spiky; whisk me off my feet." Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"What and you expect me to climb down this mountain with you in my arms?" He asked sarcastically. Yuffie smiled sweetly.

"I could jump on your back if you like?" Cloud ignored her comment and turned to make his own way down. Yuffie pouted at his lack of reaction, watching him as he climbed down to the pathway, "Hey, wait up!" As she climbed this mountain often, Yuffie knew the way down like the back of her hand. This meant she was quickly able to scurry down and jogged to catch up with Cloud on the path. As she reached his side, she took hold of his hand. Cloud turned to glance at her in surprise, but his expression softened as he saw her smiling at him.

"This…is going to take some getting used to," He stated, looking down to where their hands were entwined.

"What, being the second best fighter here?" Cloud cast her another unimpressed look, but Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him, "Lighten up chocobo head. You just got yourself a hot girlfriend." For the first time since Yuffie could remember, Cloud laughed. She was slightly taken aback at first, until she realised what Cloud was laughing at, "Hey!" Cloud said nothing in response but just smiled at her.

As they reached the town itself, Yuffie stopped for a moment. Cloud frowned as he looked over his shoulder, noticing the thoughtful expression on Yuffie's face.

"Yuffie?" She blinked, as if snapping out of her thoughts, before shaking her head and walking over towards him, "You ok?"

"I'm fine," She replied, before giving a slight smile, "Just thinking."

"What about?" Cloud enquired but Yuffie just grinned.

"About how awesome I'm gonna make this place when I'm Empress." Cloud rolled his eyes at her, although amused by her comment. They made their way over towards the Turtle's Paradise, where Cloud had parked up his bike. Cloud sat himself down and switched on the engine, breaking the peaceful atmosphere that had surrounded the sleeping village. Yuffie grinned as she sat down behind him and wrapped her arms around his stomach. Cloud pulled his goggles down over his eyes, then paused momentarily as he felt Yuffie rest her head against his back. A soft smile lined his face.

"So, where to?" He asked her. Yuffie didn't reply straight away; Cloud knew she had her eyes closed, just wanting to be close to him for a moment. Then, he felt her shift her head slightly so her chin was leaning against him.

"Surprise me." Cloud glanced over at her, before nodding his head. He revved the engine, before the bike shot off towards the entrance. He heard Yuffie yelp, then she hit his back.

"I told you to stop doing that!" She exclaimed over the roar of the engine, but Cloud just smirked at her. Yuffie grinned at the back of him, despite herself. She could feel her heart swelling as she thought about the kiss they'd shared on top of Dao Chao. Part of her still couldn't believe that Cloud had said he loved her; she felt kinda giddy. Cloud Strife was in love with her. All those thoughts she'd been having earlier seemed so far away now she was here cuddling against him; his body keeping her warm despite the cool wind that whipped around them as the bike sped down the dirt trodden path. Yuffie smiled, snuggling her head against his back once more and closing her eyes. It seemed strange, but she couldn't ever remember feeling this happy before. Not that she'd admit that out loud however. After a few moments, she opened them again and frowned.

"Cloud…" She began in a quiet, yet audible voice, "I feel sick…."

* * *

_Can't believe I actualyl finished it...wow!_

_Thank you to everyone who's been sticking with this from the beginning...as I've taken my sweet time to get it done! But yes, everyone's support has been fantastic, so thank you very much!_

_I've already started up on my next idea. It's another Cloud x Yuffie, so please keep an eye out for it! Hopefully I'll be updating as often as I can, although university is pretty time consuming...but yeah, share the love and let me know what you think of the ending. Thanks once again._

_Peace and love, TimberOwls._


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